When Dogs Fly: A Custom Flag-Maker Smiles

A while back I got a call from a customer in Texas who wanted to purchase one of our dog flags. The following is part of the letter I received just before mailing off a black lab flag to her.

"I have now found your website and your things are gorgeous. I would like to special order the french blue with a black lab. I plan to give this to my husband for our wedding anniversary...he will simply love it - he a year ago rescued a black lab - the 3rd lab in our lifetime. We are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ike and your flag will be a real "happy" for us and our neighborhood. I can expect you will hear from many more Galvestonians."

When it comes to cool gifts, flags do make people smile. Sometimes, a little teary-eyed. I know this sounds corny but it's true. I've seen their faces and have read their testimonials. That is why I do what I do.

White Flag - I Surrender

The white flag of surrender has a new meaning for me now. I had to laugh the other day when I received an order over my website www.seattleflagmakers.com. My customer ordered one of our wine glass flags on a burgundy background but the order did not process through PayPal. An hour later the same customer ordered another wine glass flag; this time the one on a white background. When this sort of thing happens I always send a follow-up email asking to confirm the latest order and also to let my customer know they won't be double charged. Shortly after my email I got a reply thanking me for checking back and yes, she wanted the wine glass flag on the white background because after giving it thought this one was perfect: it was an "I surrender", it's time for a glass of wine and perfect to indicate a house party. I've always preferred the wine glass on a white background and now I am further convinced as to why. After a long day I'm more than willing "to surrender!"

What Makes A Wedding....A Memory?

As a custom flag maker I've made my share of wedding flags, although not as many as I would like to. And I don't say this because of the money. I've made plenty of great flags that have come and gone in the wind and for the most part this is how I have made my living since the early 80's. What I am talking about here is keepsake, a remembrance of a very important and special day, and being able to fly your colors year after year for a good long time to come. And perhaps thinking of who made it. Now that would make my day. I truly have the best customers in the world and this is why I do what I do. We put smiles on each others faces and remember each other for years. Good memories.....that is what makes a wedding.

Flag Maker Woes

It used to be easy, the only woe I had was keeping up with all the orders. It was a crazy time in Newport RI. The US had just lost the America's Cup to the Aussies. Our shop was right on Thames Street and from day one people came in and life got interesting. We hung in for nearly fourteen years. It was a good life.

Fast forward to Seattle WA. I've lived here now for almost 9 years. A couple of years ago I decided to jump back into the flag making business. It kept me well for many years and it was time to give it another go. Only it didn't go. It limped.

Seattle is different than Newport in ways. Back home was small. We had the island mentality, had to drive to Providence or Boston for a dose of big city life. Here we've got city life at our door.

We both do share the love of water, the salty air but as far as flags are concerned Newport and Seattle are miles apart. There is no tradition out here and it took being interviewed on our local NPR station to finally realize this.

Not only do homes not fly the American flag like they do back East, boaters around here don't fly flags. I've never seen such naked marina's and flag-less boats in my life. Must be the weather.

Tradition can be stodgy, written off. But the sight of colors flying from boats does my heart good. The history of vessels flying flags is enormous and so fascinating. That is, to those of us.....who are interested.

Letting Your Flag Fly

The boats at Shilshole Bay Marina provide a clear view of the water through their unadorned masts. So clear in fact, that a passerby can't tell anything about the travels those boats make. In ports in other areas of the country, a marina like that would be an explosion of colorful flags, documenting the journeys of the vessels. Carol Anderson had a bustling flag making business for boaters back in Newport, Rhode Island. But, since starting Seattle Flag Makers last year, most of Carol's business has come from out of state including one very tall order from the US military. Carol tells Megan Sukys what she loves about the art of flags.

Listen to the full interview on: KUOW's Sound Focus

Pirate Flags

I love flags. I don't remember when I first started to feel this way. I do know we had a tall flagpole in the center of our yard; as a child growing up the American flag was raised every day with honor. This pole was in the center of a circular garden that I tended for many years. I have always loved the American flag. When as an adult I moved to Newport, RI, I was amazed to see all the flags that were flying there. I took my binoculars to the harbor and learned how to construct a decent flag. I've been sewing all of my life so it came naturally to me. It was in Newport where love became passion.

I was blessed with nearly fourteen years of making some of the coolest flags for people all over the world. Right there on Thames Street, across from the toy store, the antique store and the fish market. From the very start I've always had the best customers, I swear. There were so many interesting designs to make, so many interesting people to meet. And the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. On the east coast there's a history that is told through colors of war. And in Newport a history of beautiful yachts, the America's Cup, the US Navy and a pirate of it's own.

I made so many boxing kangaroo flags the year we lost the America's Cup to Australia I lost count and from there business took off. I studied naval flags and made beautiful ship's flags for some of the navy vessels stationed there. I searched local used book stores for flag books and one day came across a book of pirates that pictured so many interesting flags I could hardly believe my eyes.

Fast forward nearly ten years after leaving Newport, I am now in Seattle, WA and once again making custom flags for the best customers on earth and more pirate flags than ever before. Henry Every, Jack Rackam, Thomas Tew, Edward England, you name it. And I love it!

The Holidays Are Upon Us Once Again

Flags help create tradition. Design a customized flag for your family home, or boat, to celebrate the holiday season. What inspires your family the most during this special time of year? Snowfall, ice skating, roasting marshmallows, decorating the tree, lighting the menorah, or building a snowman? Choose from one of our stock designs, or create something totally unique that represents the tradition of your family.

Add a handmade flag to your yearly interior decorations. Give a gift of a flag pole and bracket along with a flag to be flown in front of your family home. Or create a design to be flown from your boat if you are celebrating the holidays in a tropical climate!

Custom Wedding Flags

Customize a flag with your names and color combinations. We can help you create a unique design to commemorate your special day.

Each flag is appliqued (hand sewn) using heavyweight nylon fabric, durable canvas heading, and brass grommets.

website: www.seattleflagmakers.com
Email: seattleflagmakers at gmail.com
phone: 206.419.2297

Talking flags on KUOW

12/4/08 at 2:50 p.m. – Letting Your Flag Fly

The boats at Shilshole Bay Marina provide a clear view of the water through their unadorned masts. So clear in fact, that a passerby can't tell anything about the travels those boats make. In ports in other areas of the country, a marina like that would be an explosion of colorful flags, documenting the journeys of the vessels. Carol Anderson had a bustling flag making business for boaters back in Newport, Rhode Island. But, since starting Seattle Flag Makers last year, most of Carol's business has come from out of state including one very tall order from the US military. Carol tells Megan Sukys what she loves about the art of flags.

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?current=SF

Flags Make A Great Keepsake

From one of our customers:

"Hello Carol, We got the flag today and it looks great!! We could not be more happy. You did an excellent job in a very short time. Our grand-daughter will enjoy this for her entire life. This will be a most treasured gift. Thanks again."

Happy Halloween!

Flags make great Halloween decorations for your boat or your home.

USS Momsen

We just finished this flag in three different sizes for the USS Momsen: 3'x5', 4'x6' and 5'x8'

The USS Momsen is named after Vice Admiral Charles B. Momsen (1896-1967). Vice Admiral Momsen made many contributions to the Navy such as the invention of the Momsen Lung. Momsen was also involved in the first successful rescue of a crew of a sunken submarine, USS Squalus (SS-192), and subsequently supervised the salvage of the boat.

Attract Attention To Your Business With A Colorful Banner

Fuel Coffee in Seattle commissioned us for an eye-catching banner with their logos for a recent event.

Seafair Pirates

Pirate Henry Every's flagPirate Jack Rackman's flag

It's time for Seafair in Seattle. Get your pirate flags ready!

Commonly known as the "Jolly Roger", the skull and crossbones is the definitive symbol of the pirate. Today the black flag with white skull-and-crossbones is the stereotypical image of a pirate flag. However, real pirate flags were much more diverse in appearance, and they varied from individual pirate to pirate.

These hand sewn versions of the pirate flags are replicas of the pirates original design.
Each of the sewn flags are handmade by C. Anderson & Company in Seattle, Washington.

Update on the 280 ' Homeward Bound

We just received this great photo of the 280 foot Homeward Bound pennant we made flying from the USS Carney!

Yacht Club Burgees

Just about every yacht club has a unique burgee (flag) that identifies their member's boats.

Decorative Dowel Banners

Dress up your home or storefront with a colorfully appliqued decorative banner. Just the right size for someone who does not need a large flag. Dowel Banners are 15"x36". They are constructed using double layers of UV protected, heavyweight nylon fabric, and cut at an angle so the design hangs properly at all times.

Create a custom dowel banner like the ones pictured above. We created a music note banner for a couple that has a recording studio in their home. We also created the same design on an Irish green background as a gift for a man that plays in an Irish band.

Create your own design or choose from the many styles we make for different seasons and holidays.

Logo Flags

Create an eye-catching flag with your business logo. This is one we just made for a local gym here in Seattle called Zum. They will be using the flag for off-site events to let people know where they are located.

Custom Decorative Banners For Your Home

Get the entire family together to design a flag. The cat flag (pictured above) was created by a mother and daughter. They wanted one flag that could easily change from seasons to occasions with the switch of a hat. We created patches with snaps on the back that attach to both sides of the flag. This flag is cut at an angle so it hangs properly at all times in front of the family home.

Summer In Seattle

Fisheries Supply

We are excited to announce that Fisheries Supply in Seattle is carrying our small boating flags. If you live in the area, stop in!

Seattle PI - The Tail End Of A Long Journey

It's the tail end of a long journey
280-foot naval flag signals home
By DAN RICHMAN P-I REPORTER

It is the biggest flag Carol Anderson has ever sewn. It's the biggest she has ever seen, in fact.
The artisan, who works out of rented quarters in Fremont, has created a 280-foot-long, 17-inch wide, swallow-tailed pennant at the request of the USS Carney.
That guided missile destroyer, itself 505 feet long and displacing 8,300 tons, has been serving in the Middle East and is about to return to its home port of Mayport, Fla.
U.S. naval tradition allows returning ships that have been outside the country for at least nine months to fly a ceremonial flag, properly known as a homeward-bound pennant, as they steam home and enter port.
Anderson, who works under the name C. Anderson & Co. Custom Flagmakers, said personnel aboard the Carney recently contacted her by e-mail after locating the Web site of her one-person business.
She said her site was designed to come up quickly in a search for "homeward-bound pennant," because those flags are a favorite of hers.
"I just love the way they look, though I never thought I'd make one this big," she said.
Without giving further information, the ship requested a 280-foot pennant with a single white star on the blue field at the attached end, properly known as the hoist. (The other end is known as the fly.)
She promptly got to work, folding, refolding and cutting yards of red, white and blue 200-denier ultraviolet-resistant nylon on her 12-foot-long work table. She sewed the lengths together using her twin-needle industrial sewing machine, with attachments that automatically join two widths of fabric and fold the fabric onto itself to form a finished edge.
As she sat assembling the pennant, she said, she wondered what she had gotten into, especially as the fabric repeatedly became tangled. But she completed the work last week and shipped it Friday, without knowing how it will be put aboard the Carney.
Anderson, 55, wouldn't divulge how much she charged the Navy for her work, but she said it took three solid days to finish.
The Navy couldn't be reached for details. But if the Carney followed the rules when ordering the pennant -- and, the Navy being the Navy, it probably did -- three conclusions can be reached:
There are 280 people aboard the Carney.
Naval Telecommunications Procedures 13(B), Section 1609, specifies that a homeward-bound pennant shall have 1 foot of length for each officer and enlisted person onboard who has been on duty outside the U.S. for more than nine months. The overall length of the pennant is not to exceed the ship's length. The Carney can carry 338 people, but it may not be at capacity.
The Carney has been continuously outside the U.S. for at least nine months, but less than 15 months. Those same procedures call for one star for nine months outside the country and a second star for each additional six months.
This was the Carney's first extended overseas tour of duty.
The Carney apparently had no pennant, though according to its Wikipedia online entry, it has served in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.
The daughter of an Army man, Anderson got started in flag making in Newport, R.I., where she owned and operated a business for 14 years.
She opened in Seattle seven months ago, custom-making pretty much any flag, banner or pennant anyone -- even a nonboat owner -- could want.

P-I reporter Dan Richman

Click here to see this Seattle PI Article

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome to the blog of C. Anderson & Company

Seattle Flag Makers!

I have been a professional custom flag maker since 1983. Flag making is a fascinating business, more of an art and I am very passionate about the work I do. I owned and operated the flag shop called Flying Colors, on Thames Street in Newport, Rhode Island for nearly fourteen years. We serviced many homeowners and businesses, as well as the America's Cup teams and hundreds of boaters, both power and sail.

Fast forward to 2007 and to Seattle, Washington. Many of our old customers, who became part of the family in Newport, will finally be able to raise the flag because we're back in business! Our new customers will be thrilled to have found such a treasure. We are known for the quality of our workmanship and service and that has not changed.

I'll be updating this blog with photos of custom work as well as other news, so check back often.

Welcome Aboard!

Carol Anderson