Branding design on Decoys

[D. Hinton]

I’m currently re-working my brand . I’ve been wanting to anyway , but the other day my buddy inadvertently lit a fire under me.
Original brand was the side profile of my first retriever watching the sunset over a rice field..hand drawn and very crude but got the point across .

Buddy said hey that’s cool looks like the gunner logo … and when I got to looking it did. Now I drew mine first 10 years ago so I guess they copied me???

But I have a hard time thinking outside the box when it comes to art and art design .
I’m really wanting to continue a design with a dog head .. as that’s the main enjoyment for me doing this.
But I also respect and think it’s cool when people can take their name or initials and make something happen. .. example is John D Stephen’s brand for his new line of calls

So long winded question.. but those of you who brand your decoys ..

just your name?
Custom designed logo
You ain’t got time for that -> you use a paint pen

 

[William Reinicke]

Paint pen, signature, and I number my decoys that get sent outside of my shop. Im up to 24. 25 will hopefully go out in the next couple weeks. Not sure if anymore will make it out of the shop this year.

Do you want like a stencil that you lay over the decoy and paint on?

Not sure if you have played with pixlr online. I use it to custom design all my own tattoos. Whenever we vacation somewhere, I get one put on if its within the time frame. I have one from most our vacations and its just kind of a fun thing to do. You can even take your dogs picture, change it to black and white, or find logos you like (hand drawn or online) and incorporate layers to finally achieve a logo you like. You get to save up to 5 "projects" daily for free. You could even print it when complete and the hold over a piece of thin plexiglass, carve it out and you will have your branded stencil forever. Good luck in the design, ive thought about doing something like this, but I dont move enough out of my little shop to make it worth while. Good luck on creating the new logo.

 

[JasonM]

Simple brand of just my initials... JM. Then I sign and date them when finished.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

DURABLE DECOYS
VINCE PAGLIAROLI

Branding Iron made by NORCRAFT Custom Branding Irons. SO. EASTON, MA. I've used this branding iron for over 40 years and no problems. On small decoys some less than 2" wide at bottom (mostly semi flattie shorebirds, doves and songbirds) I can just brand my name the branding iron is constructed so well. The smaller the branding iron the more places it can be used.

my 2 cents

 

[Don Mintz]

I just do my signature most of the time unless it's a limited series. I'm just about finished with a series of 100 decoys that have my Cherokee name on them and include my signature and year. In the past I didn't sign any hunting decoys, but customers wanted the signature like it was a piece of artwork, they seem to prefer even that part of hand made I guess.

I have had the same signature that I used in high school in the mid 70's, a lot of that was on flat art. I didn't start carving till 1981, but started painting flat art in 1969. I'm more of a wildlife artist that carves duck decoys on occasion, well maybe more than occasionally over the past 20 years. A branding iron doesn't necessarily fit the form for a lot of what I do. I settle on a hand written signature.

Once in awhile if I just don't have a great place for a signature I'll just do my initials and year. If I only did decoys I'd probably still just sign them. If they are for our own decoy bag, I don't sign the at all. I recently had someone show me a blue gill carving with Mintz on the base figuring it was mine. My signature wasn't on it and we discovered the carving was done by my cousin who is also a Mintz. With my signature I can always tell if it's mine. One company that I used to design and paint for used my initials on the products, but not my name. I don't very often make decorative decoys, almost all of my decoys are hunting decoys and flocked.

My signature.




My initials.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, All~

My brand has always been a Plain Jane S J SANFORD. A good friend gave me an address - maybe just Branding Irons and a P.O. Box somewhere - back in 1978 or 79. It was from a magazine about either decoys or a beekeeping. I have used it since - and finally invested in an electric brand a year or so ago.

My original branding iron still hangs on the shop wall near my stove. It gets heated - to yellow hot - the Old School way....



It was poorly cast right from the start - suggesting 8 J 8ANFORD to many eyes....



Nevertheless, I will always use it. I have branded many of my gunning decoys....



...and occasionally on finer carvings (ducks). Once finished, they are signed and dated as well.



- but I simply sign smaller works, like shorebirds - and all of my flatwork - usually with a #2 pencil. Like my grandfather and father before me, I "draw" my signature (to the chagrin of mortgage bankers...and the occasional art instructor):



I also use the brand for non-decoy identification. This is my "pickup stick":



The aft coaming on a gunning boat was branded upside down by mistake!



When I got my electric brand I had them use a very similar font and size. I was happy with the actual burning - BUT it arrived "a tad askew" (for you Seinfeld fans) .



It had been welded not quite parallel to its head. Not acceptable to this fussy fellow....



So, a machinist friend corrected it for me.



I have used a logo for a long time - but never as a brand. I drew this Whistler circa 1980. It has been my "corporate logo" ever since (mostly just on business cards and other printed things).




It is also useful in helping me find my car in big parking lots..... (About half the cars locally are silver Foresters!)



I wrote about logos more generally shortly after I bought my 2018 Forester:

https://stevenjaysanford.com/identity-crisis-my-subaru-forester/

So - not much help with your new design - but I wish you the best!

SJS

 

[patrick mccarthy]

Here’s mine

 

[george w]

i remember smyser branding his forearm accidentally