Eat up The Mad Cow Company
By Amy Witt
With a motto, “Handcrafted for the individual who wants to stand out from the herd,” you can easily be attracted and intrigued by the advertised slogan of unique products. It is hard not to marvel at the designs and work of Mad Cow Company. A talented husband and wife team, this company creates some of the coolest, intricate, classy engraved and stoned spurs, bits, jewelry, and whatever your heart desires. I am inspired and admire the work and dedication of not only two people but parents who continue to grow and succeed without jeopardizing their products.
AW: Give me some background on you and the members of your company.
MC: The employees at The Mad Cow Company are just my husband and I. He does all of the engraving, cut out work and welding. I do all the designing, soldering, stone setting and finishing. He is a big tall guy that used to work construction for a living, but the business started to really grow about 5 years ago and I needed his help. So he quit that type of work to help me with the company. I sent him to an engraving school and he loved it and things took off from there.
AW: How did Mad Cow get started?
MC: The company started initially when I was a high school Home Economics teacher, my teaching pay was the same as the cost to put my two small kids in daycare. So in order to stay home I started making jewelry to sell to make up for that income. I started with Farmer's markets and local rodeos and then after the first year went big to Las Vegas to the NFR.
AW: Describe your work area.
MC: Our shop is located in the backyard in the old ranch bunkhouse. The porch has welding and grinding equipment, the main room has buffing, engraving and cutting equipment, the kitchen has soldering and finishing tools, and the bathroom has all the bead and jewelry making stuff. We fit a lot into a tiny place.
AW: What is a day like in your shoes?
MC: A day in my shoes starts at 4:00 with a lot of coffee. I try to work out every day, then go out and do chores: feed the horses, cattle, donkey, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Milk the goat, wake up the kids and make some breakfast. Run the kids to school. Get on the computer and answer all the emails and messages. Walk out the back door of the house and start whatever pile of work needs attention at the shop. Break for lunch, and back at it. Get the kids from school, saddle horses and rope a few rounds before it gets dark. Chores, dinner and bed as early as possible.
AW: What is your company’s goal for customers?
MC: Our goal for our customers is to make a unique product that you can't find anywhere else. We have stayed a small company on purpose. We like to make our products with our own hands. We have had opportunities to expand, and outsource our designs but we don't go that direction because that is not what we want our product to be.
AW: things people don’t know about you or the company
MC: The name came from when I was pregnant for the first time, and I did not know it yet. I had all the symptoms of Mad Cow disease and thought that is what I had.
I have the dirtiest, most stained hands of any woman in the world. I don't like to wear gloves and all the antique chemicals I use really messes my hands up. It takes at least three days for the stains to wear off when I am out of the shop.
AW: Future goals.
MC: Our future goals are just to keep making the coolest stuff we can think of and make enough money at it to keep our kids and critters fed.
For ordering info visit them at: http://www.shopmadcownow.com
Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mad-Cow-Company/237624069622137
All photos courtesy of The Mad Company
