My first Edc drop!

Hello Friends! This month started out with a July 4th Titanium Coin Drop that included my first hank drop as well! For my first ever coin drop, I feel it had moderate success with only 4 selling, but I had an absolute blast working with KF Studios to create these, and the truth is I don’t create anything simply to sell. The reason I create or design any product at all, is because first things first, I want it for myself, and I want to make sure that what I carry is 100% American Made!

Get FREE SHIPPING on just the AAM Hank with the Code: SHIPMYHANK

(Free Shipping Doesn’t Apply to Any Other Product)

This month I also dropped the latest AAM Podcast Episode #12 with John Schatvet and we filmed the making of this epic Curly Maple EDC Tray! You can watch this video and the first half of the video Podcast on the AAM Youtube Channel!

The past few weeks, my wife and I have actually been on vacation! She is a teacher, so we really only have the month of July when she is free to leave. So we traveled to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, staying a few days in 5 different locations! It was quite the adventure and most definitely included some challenges, but it was so worth the mental break and time out of the shop!

The second truth is, we love to travel, see new places, visit family and friends, and explore parts of the country we haven’t seen in a while! I am a firm believer that if you speak of or preach about doing something, that you lead by example! This is where the slogan, “Do What You Love” comes into play! I love to spend time with my wife, I love to travel, I love to take photos (Because I want to, not need to for work), and I love to explore new places! I say all the time, and now literally imprint on the stuff I make “Do What You Love”! So I must always remember to do this very thing!

While on our trip, we had the opportunity to visit some friends, family, and these were seriously some of our highlights of the trip! Always remember that while Doing What You Love, PEOPLE are the most important part of life!

I say all of this to remind you and most importantly myself, to stop, smell the proverbial roses, and Do What You Love, What Makes YOU Happy, and NEVER let work, or the expectations of others keep you from experiencing all that life has to offer!

Hello Friend! I am sitting here writing my first blog for All American Maker, and I wanted to do a quick recap of 2020. This past year was full of insane unknowns and hiccups of epic proportions. Three months in, I lost over $75K in potential business through my media business, and this company (All American Maker), that I initially started as a side business and podcast, has now become my main focus and the source for providing for my family. To say that 2020 was hard would be an understatement. But I feel that it was one of the greatest years of growth for me.

2020 taught me a lot about product development, marketing my business in crazy big ways, and the importance of connecting with more people than ever before! I had an incredible opportunity to travel across the country, not just once, but twice!! The first trip was 7600 miles! I started it out by spending 3 weeks in Sheridan, Wyoming filming with Bison Union Company. An online apparel company that has diversified into owning a coffee ship and Bison Ranch.

I drove from there to Washington state and met up with Bryant Hamblen who is the owner of Hog Doggins, then drove north to spend a day with Allen who is the owner of Rustic Red’s Leather, drove south from there to spend an afternoon shooting and chatting with Christian (Denim And Whiskey), and then proceeded to drive down to Salem, Oregon where I filmed a podcast with Luke & Gillian Summers who are the owners of Agape Custom Shop!

One of my biggest take aways from 2020 is that people are truly the most important part of life! Making money, building a business, creating a life, are all meaningless without surrounding yourself with the right people. People who challenge you to be better at what you do, people who call you out on your crap, and people who will lift you up when you fall down. Life is nothing without people, and I have vowed to make 2021 a year for the people! Next week I want to share some of the vision I have for the new year, and my crazy big vision for the maker community! I can’t wait to share it with you! ~Brendan