HOW SWEET IS THAT
Don't get me wrong, we love making regular guitar straps and proudly shipping them to our customers. But, when it comes to adding something to our Vintage Guitar Strap collection, there's always research. Which includes listening to music, watching videos of these fantastic musicians. You can't beat that!
And, have already had a few customers ask about iconic straps like those used by John Lennon, Sir Paul and Gene Simmons! Going to be a a fun couple of months!
I'll post articles about each strap over the next few days!
Here's a link to the Duane Allman Tribute Strap
- Kent
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Hi, we're Kent and Allyson. We've changed the name of our business to Whitaker Leather from E.H. Campbell Trading company. After the first of the year, 2019, all of our handcrafted leather items will be shipped using the new Whitaker Leather logo. We'll still keep the E.H. Campbell Brand alive with other products in the future.
Our small business started with a hobby of making handmade leather craft items. It's grown to include custom beverage, bar and kitchen items as well as holsters, jewelry, purses, bags, holsters, and our growing line of vintage style guitar straps and other music accessories.
The original E.H. Campbell name represented a combination of letters signifying our parents and grandparents as well as siblings and our son. Plus, Campbell is a family name.
But, we quickly realized that we referred to our business as "Whitaker Leather" more often than not. So, our original shout-out to family was done with love, but changing to Whitaker Leather just made sense.
Now, we hope to pass that onto our customers where they are... even if you're inside an office and downtown! Here's a few things that make us different.
The Original Campbell Name: Our original name was a dedication to our families. "E" stands for Eli. "H" stands for Hank and Henry. Campbell stands for... Campbell, all of which are family names. The selection of the letters and last name covers just about every branch of our family tree. E.H. Campbell is uniquely Vintage Americana!
The Story: Our family has a rich tradition of military, EMS, and community service. We are also a family with ties to other countries and parts of the world but we all have a common thread - loving family, friends, life, and the opportunities this great nation has given us.
When we decided to start E.H. Campbell Trading Company we wanted to make sure that the hard work our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents was honored. That's why we have a focus on Made in the USA custom leather items.
]]>Three Generations of Service! Two Army Strong and a Coastie/EMS
Thanks - Allyson Whitaker
Contact: Email us - ehcampbelltrading@hotmail.com
Chef Knife BBQ and Grilling Holster
Leather Six Pack Carrier with Opener
Leather Fly Fishing Wallet
Leather Minimal Travel Wallet
Leather Visor
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We made several for friends and relatives. Some special order buckles for longtime customers. Finally, a light went off... "Hey... we love using up scrap leather from these sides of leather... we hate waste." Plus... we love producing quality cool things!
So, after some delays that are 100% our fault... we have decided to start offering more of our buckle designs to our customers. Hope you enjoy them - feel free to ask us any questions about the styles available.
]]>Salted Caramel Red Velvet Cookies
Ingredients
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment. Set aside.
2. In a gallon-sized zip-top bag, place sugar cookie dough, cocoa powder and red gel food coloring together. Knead bag until ingredients are well combined.
3. Wrap 1 tablespoon of dough around 1 caramel candy, encasing the candy in the dough ball. Place ball on cookie sheet. Continue until all dough has been rolled into cookie rounds.
4. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 9-12 minutes, or just until they begin to set. Remove cookies and cool completely.
5. Melt white chocolate chips in one zip-top bag, and milk chocolate chips in another. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top of each cooled cookie, sprinkling tops with flaked sea salt. Allow chocolate to cool and harden before serving. Serve at room temperature.
Full credit to Pillsbury for these tasty cookies!
Have fun getting your shopping done - be sure to check out some of our gift ideas!
- Allyson and Kent
]]>Ever wondered if horses like ice cream cones? SaddleBox - the Monthly Subscription Box for Horse Lovers - has the answer and they are sharing a few tasty recipes for DIY Horse Treats!
SaddleBox.net is an equine based monthly subscription box geared for people who love horses. SaddleBox founder Phil Van Treuren says the company was born out of a simple request from his daughter Sophie she walked up to Van Treuren, and his wife Sharon, and said she wanted to learn how to ride a horse!
Now the family shares newfound passion for "everything equine" which includes spending time with their horse named Dash!
About SaddleBox.net
Every month, SaddleBox sends subscribers a box of surprises for horses: treats, grooming products, supplements, and more. SaddleBox always includes something for owners, too, like equine-related books and tack care products. And, a portion of each sale goes to horse rescue organizations.
"My family and I made the decision that we would donate a percentage of profits each year to horse rescue organizations," Van Treuren said. "Not all horses have a family of their own, and we want to support groups that help them find homes."
SaddleBox.net Extras
"We try to make each box as fun as possible," Van Treuren said. "We want the whole experience of opening the box every month to be enjoyable."
Each month, one random SaddleBox subscriber also gets a special surprise in their box: Dash's Golden Ticket, which includes a $100 gift card to Tractor Supply Company. It's one more way to make each month's opening "more exciting" for subscribers, Van Treuren said.
"Our goal is to make each box better than the last," Van Treuren said. "We love when our subscribers contact us with ideas for how we can improve our service."
Recipes for Horse Treats!
SaddleBox has several recipes for Horse Treats that you can make at home including the Canter Cone "Ice Cream" Cones. Here's how you get started.
Canter Cone "Ice Cream" Cones
Directions:
For More Information about making your own horse treats, and SaddleBox, please visit: Saddlebox.net
]]>Here's why - those people are almost always asking about items because they want to give them as gifts! How cool is that? We think it's a great thing that so many people think the leather items we make are worth giving to somebody else during Christmas and the Holidays!
Now, you would expect that since we are known for our holsters that those items would be at the top of the list. Sure, several have been shipped and some are being made. But, the big items this Christmas early shopping season seems to be something as far away from holsters that you could think of.
So, in order to help with some of the questions from customers we decided to post this blog with the theme - The TOP BIG THREE ITEMS!
BIG SELLER ONE - Leather Cast Iron Skillet Holder.
We know... Right! Don't get us wrong - we love cast iron cooking as much as the next person but these handmade leather holders for Cast Iron skillets are flying out at a rapid pace! You can choose between Hand dyed, Rustic Brown, or vegtan brown or vegtan black. The Rustic Brown is pictured. It's our own dye that we use on our classic Western holsters.
BIG SELLER TWO - Leather Coaster Sets!
Yep - Leather Coasters! Now - to be honest - we had an order for a bunch of these that powered it into the number two spot for holiday sales. But, following that order - there have been a pretty good number of folk picking up several of these for gifts. The questions we get are generally along the lines of "do these really work well as coasters?" The answer to that is "Heck yea they do!"
BIG SELLER THREE - Classic Leather Lanyard
The E.H. Campbell Classic Leather Lanyard is the anchor of the the list! We've been packing these bad boys up and shipping them out like crazy! They are a pretty popular item here on our main site and on our ETSY store. People seem to love them!
Those are some of the items that customers are grabbing heading into the Christmas and Holiday season. Hope the info helps!
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Sounds dumb, I'm sure to a few people, but picture time also equals family time! We grab some stuff we've made, look for the right setting, light, cold beverages, and start going to work.
But - work in this case is fun. Jokes, dogs in the back yard, pictures done eventually, and before you know it - the grill is fired up!
That's why that crazy good Turkey Burger is pictured! We made a batch of these bad boys following the photo shoot. The recipe is in the book Great American Grilling which can be purchased HERE.
Just saying - take a deep breath and have some fun at work and with the family! It makes for a pretty dang good day.
]]>The E.H. Campbell Trading Company Store now offers the complete collection of titles in the Hometown Cookbook Series. The books include recipes from real people in each state as well as a ton of fun information.
So, stop by the bookstore and pic up a copy. And, enjoy this recipe from Kent "The Deck Chef" Whitaker.
This yeast roll recipe is pretty easy to follow and if you take your time you will have a wonderful batch of melt in your mouth rolls. Perfect for any family meal!
Yeast Roll Ingredients
First – DISSOLVE two yeast packets in very 1/2 warm/hot water in a large bowl.
Second – In a sauce pan – Combine milk, sugar, salt and shortening in and heat over medium low heat to 115°F – Be sure to keep stirring until shortening is melted. Add to yeast mixture and stir in egg. Stir to blend.
Third – Beat in 3 cups flour until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour to make a soft dough. TURN the dough onto a lightly floured surface. I use a cookie tin with sides to help hold the flour. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Shape into a ball. Coat a LARGE bowl with no-stick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to evenly coat with the spray.
Fourth – Cover with towel. Let rise in a warm place 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
Fifth – Coat two 13 x 9-inch pans with non-stick cooking spray. Divide the dough into half and the divide each half into 12-15 equal equal sized pieces. Shape into balls by rolling in your hands and place them in the pan with space in between each roll. Cover with towel. Let rise in a warm place about 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
A MUST – PREHEAT your oven to 400 degrees.
Sixth– Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter. Serve warm.
Additional Yeast Roll Cooking Tips:
NOTE: You can use rapid yeast, I’ve used both. NOTE TWO: If you don’t have a large enough bowl you can divide the freshly kneaded dough into two equal pieces and use two smaller bowls, cover and allow each to double in size. The rise time will differ due to the smaller dough balls. NOTE THREE:Don’t rush things. Let the smaller dough balls rise before cooking.
I hope you enjoy these Homemade Melt in your mouth Yeast Rolls Recipe! Do you think you will give it a try?
]]>We hope to crow this section with some custom made items from regional suppliers. Right now we are working with a US based company that sells both domestic and imported items. We liked them because they has some neat caps for fishing and hunting. Plus, they have a great sense of humor!
We will start to grow this line of products to feature more and more items including headgear that's geared towards hiking, fishing, and more.
]]>Here are some of the titles by Whitaker, former winner of the Emeril Live / Food Network Barbecue Contest, now available to our customers.
All copies are signed by the author!
]]>We would like to welcome our first official dealer to the E.H. Campbell Trading Company family. Lookout Firearms will be carrying holsters and select leather goods in their Chattanooga based store located below scenic Lookout Mountain. In addition, Randy at Lookout Firearms can order any E.H. Campbell item for his customers. This includes all of the items on our website as well as take custom holster orders.
Randy is a longtime Georgia Bulldog fan as well as a proud parent and husband. He and his family are active in the local community as well as in their children's sports and activities.
Lookout Firearms offers a wide and growing selection of firearms, custom builds, holsters, accessories, ammo, shirts, and repair work. They specialize in working with their customers on developing custom orders that best fit the individuals needs.
The also carry bags, cases, ORCA brand coolers and much more.
Please visit Lookout Firearms in Chattanooga!
Then it rained, then it rained some more. Then there was sleet, ice, snow, more rain, and even thunderstorms. None of this is a perfect setting. So every time we looked at a date for the shoot Mother Nature decided to play havoc.
The problem is we really wanted to get these new holsters out into public view and on our website. That's when fate, and Ashton saved the day!
Ashton, and her father Wes, stopped by the house for a few minutes to say hello. We've known Ashton since she was a little girl who walked over to the house on a weekly, our near daily, basis. Now she lives in another city, is attending college, and the visits have slowed.
In addition to a visit Wes was ordering a new holster. That brought the conversation around to "Ash" wanting some custom leather for her archery rigs and maybe a scabbard. It was great seeing Ashton and the visit was wonderful.... and she was wearing killer boots, jeans, and a really sweet belt.
Thanks to Ashton and Wes for being our emergency E.H. Campbell Western Holster models!
]]>"In a really fun paper bag!"
Yep, we shipped several smaller items towards the end of the year in packaging inspired by rustic recycling. We picked up a couple of boxes of recycled paper lunch bags at a clearance sale. The bags, which can be recycled, are paired up with some environmentally friendly packaging material. The result is a green friendly packaging that looks as cool as a hand packed lunch without the use of Styrofoam or similar materials.
It's working great with the smaller items so far. And, we hope to make the switch to similar materials for all of our items as soon as possible.
]]>Now our attention is switching to the kitchen - it's time to bake some cookies and treats for the holidays. Oh, and there's a ham that has to be smoked along with a small turkey. Using a combination of hickory and apple wood for the smoker. Looking for that familiar smoked flavor with a slight taste of the apple.
Well, regardless of what we have planned for the Campbell folk, we just wanted to remind all of our friends that the holiday is not about "getting" or even "giving." We think it's more of a combination of the to along with a healthy serving of appreciation.
So, say thanks for what you get, always give what you can and what's needed. And, appreciate the moment... as well as family, friends, and even the small stuff.
We'll be in the shop over the Christmas and holiday season working and filling orders... but... there's a good chance we might be baking some cookies, throwing snowballs if it ever snows, and enjoying a nice fire with some marshmallows and hot chocolate.
]]>So, after several "test" runs of the Bottle Wrench we decided to try a beer bread recipe using one of our local craft beers. The good news is that both the Bottle Wrench the beer bread rocked. The bad news is that we ate the beer bread that night way before our planned grilling session.
Seems like we need to make some more bread so we can test the Bottle Wrench some more along with some additional local brews. Here's the Beer Bread Recipe, with a barbecue twist, courtesy of www.thedeckchef.com
Kent's Beer Bread - Plain or with Barbecue
For the plain version, just leave out the barbecue and barbecue sauce.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Place in greased bread pan and bake for 55 minutes at about 350 degrees. You can also cook it on a covered grill using offset medium high heat. If you cook on the grill I suggest using mini loaf pans or muffin pans. Cover with foil if the top browns too much. Check with toothpick or knife for doneness.
East Ridge, Tennessee resident Kent Whitaker is a culinary writer, cookbook author, recipient of the American Authors Association Gold Medal for a Culinary Title, and former winner of the Food Network / Emeril Live Barbecue Contest. His books include seven titles in the Hometown Cookbook series, three history titles including Talladega Superspeedway, and several books for kids. Thedeckchef.com or @thekentwhitaker
Until then we decided that having some really cool, one-of-a-kind, handmade, affordable leather ties would be the way to start.
Don't worry - our tie line will be growing soon. It's just a matter of inking the deal!
]]>Well, actually, we have to admit that we've succumbed to the Black Friday sales on occasion. It was chaos, stressful, and probably not worth the drive to the mall! That's why we're excited to say the E.H. Campbell Trading Company Shopper will be able to take part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales from Friday to Tuesday - all from the comfort of the couch.
You won't have to miss a game, a sale on any of our items, any leftover Turkey sandwiches and more.
The Deal! - First, we are offering FREE SHIPPING on all order with a combined weight limit of under 5 pounds. So, load up on some wallets, fishing gear, bar items, and more and save.
The Second Deal! - Look for Discounted Prices - up to 50% off starting Thursday night all the way to Tuesday morning!
The Third Deal! - Every Order over $25 will get a free Limited Edition E.H. Campbell Leather Key Chain - made from Classic Tanned Dark Brown Latigo Leather!
All three Deals will be available to all E.H. Campbell Trading Company shoppers from Thursday night all the way to Tuesday morning!
We look forward to helping you survive Black Friday and Cyber Monday!
]]>Our new E.H. Campbell Rustic Chocolate Latigo Wallet is handcrafted from scrap leather retirements left over from a made in the USA Western Saddle company. The pieces are two small for using for making other saddles so we've worked with the front office to gather up usable pieces before they are scrapped.
The leather is a short run chocolate distressed Latigo Leather specially tanned for our friends at the Western saddle and tack company. They use it for their mot high end saddles as well as some strap goods. The soft texture and feel of the leather is amazing.
While we're there we always pick up a couple of sides of nice leather for projects. The great thing about using leather like this, for any project, is that the saddle builder probably cut around a mark, scratch, or distressed area. We love these minor flaws - it adds character to each item!
We're looking forward to seeing what we come up with fine materials items that are destined for the scrap heap.
]]>We hope you enjoy the site, our products, blog posts, and more. We promise to keep developing the finest American Made E.H. Campbell products. When we partner with companies overseas we'll let you know; no secrets, no junk... just quality goods that would make your grandparents proud.
Keep an eye out on the blog for reviews, new items, sports info, fishing tips, camping hacks, and even some awesome recipes.
Thanks - E.H.C.
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