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
December 4, 2008
November 28, 2008
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."
October 15, 2008
September 27, 2008
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.
August 12, 2008
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.
July 28, 2008
Seafair Pirates
Pirate Henry Every's flag
Pirate 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.
July 12, 2008
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!July 2, 2008
Yacht Club Burgees
Just about every yacht club has a unique burgee (flag) that identifies their member's boats.
June 24, 2008
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.
June 21, 2008
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!
June 19, 2008
Seattle PI - The Tail End Of A Long Journey
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
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
June 18, 2008
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
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