“Gun Dog Glory” is one of Steve’s brand new designs for our latest fall/holiday collection. With a retriever, a mallard, and a break action shotgun, Steve drew this for our hunters and waterfowl enthusiasts. While not a hunter himself, the South is one of our best markets, and so Steve illustrated this number with duck season on the horizon. When paired with your favorite tweed jacket, “Gun Dog Glory” is the ideal silk to knot up after a day in the blind.

 “Quail Hunt,” also featured above, is an old classic of ours reworked for the fall. Years ago, one of our best accounts, Kevin’s of Thomasville, asked Steve to draw a tie with quail on it. While we had neckwear featuring labs, retrievers, bulldogs, terriers, and more, Steve completed the design with two German Shorthaired Pointers in pursuit. To this day, the design holds up well, being one of the perfect ties to wear with our Italian dress shirts.

 

Bear Down

Good Afternoon, Steve here. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable summer and are as excited for fall as I am. Our new collection went online recently, and it is our biggest and “hopefully” best yet. With new dress shirts, neckwear, socks, boxers, leather goods and other accessories, I feel we have truly outdone ourselves.

As I write this, I am sitting at the kitchen table at my folks’ townhouse in Colorado. A few weeks ago, Gus the Dog and I packed up my trusty Tahoe and headed west from Chicago to Vail for our yearly work vacation. In August every year, I like to temporarily relocate and take my design work elsewhere. Being able to combine work with pleasure is a welcome relief, and I’ve found time to enjoy the outdoors with Gus while also illustrating and coloring the following year’s fall collection.

Since 1972, my family has had a place here in The Landmark resort. My grandfather, Ronald Macfarlane Clarkson, took up the sport of skiing in 1960 at the ripe old age of 44. After mastering all the Midwest had to offer, he looked elsewhere, eventually traveling to both Europe and Canada to hone his craft. Upon his return home, he heard a small buzz surrounding the Vail Valley and soon made his way west to see it for himself. After seasons worth of skiing and having fallen in love with everything the close-knit town embodied, he and my grandmother purchased a modest townhouse a stones throw from the gondola.

Though we rarely used it during peak season, my family always took advantage of it when summer arrived. When classes broke for summer break, we packed up whatever family wagon we had and headed to Vail for everything it offered. Not many kids from the Chicago suburbs could say they grew up horseback riding, backwoods hiking, whitewater rafting, real mountain biking, and, of course, fly-fishing for trout and steelhead in Gore Creek. While I always enjoyed the outdoors, my love for nature really took shape in Vail and is reflected in a number of the illustrations in each collection.

One of those illustrations is “Bear Necessities,” drawn right here at the kitchen table twelve months ago. Having been inspired by a life size bronze sculpture in front of my favorite restaurants, I returned home and sketched out this number. While some designs come to me right off the bat, “Bear Necessities” took a little more work, evidenced in my original sketch featured above. Ultimately, I decided to “open up” the design more to include a greater amount of detail, like the rocks, puddles, and jumping salmon. Additionally, this allows the necktie to be paired with one of our tightly checked Italian-milled dress shirts–in all, a win-win!

Anyway, there’s a little peek to the method behind all the madness and what inspires me with each new collection. As with everything in the Mayer family, there’s always a story…

Though the leaves are beginning to change color and the temperatures are starting to drop, things are heating up with our latest Fall/Holiday collection. Whether one of our new Italian dress shirts or our 100% silk, handprinted whimsical neckwear, there is sure to be something for everyone in our latest assembly of men’s clothing and accessories. Visit birddogbay.com today to see our latest and greatest!

Every year in late August, Gus the Dog and Steve load up the old Chevy Tahoe “Bears Truck” and head west from Chicago to Vail, Colorado. While Steve grew up just outside Chicago, his family always had a place in Vail, and summer trips were the one thing he looked forward to the most. Spending summers in Vail was where his love of the outdoors was cultivated, and he enjoyed hiking, fishing, mountain biking, and everything the town had to offer. Between illustrating the new designs, to picking swatch colors, to photographing the pictures you see in our catalog, In fact, this selection of goods was born out of his visit here last summer. The “Bear Necessities” tie, (seen below) was inspired by a sculpture in front of one of Steve’s favorite Colorado restaurants. In short, Vail has always been a great source of inspiration and influence for Steve’s artwork.

Alongside the new silk designs, there are other additions in our Fall 2015 collection. The first item is our spread collar dress shirts. After two seasons of shirts with button-down collars, we introduced our spread collar variants in order to add further diversity to the line. While the earlier shirts can be dressed up or down, these are more formal and frame our neckwear artwork better. We are also excited for our first run of leather goods, which features both dopp kits and tie cases.

 

“Chuck Taylor and the Rock” would have been a great name for this tie, although we didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes with our first classic basketball tie. Colored to be worn all months, not just the mad ones. The fun contrasting colors and classic pattern make this  the perfect tie for the hoopster. Rock the orange hoop dreams with a blue shirt, and you will be quoting “Hoosiers” while draining threes… Well, maybe in your head at least. Anyways, this basketball necktie is as legendary as Larry.

 

Go ahead and shoot the three… SHOOT IT!!!!!!!

Boomer Bugs

One of the most unique things about Bird Dog Bay is the fact each and every design in our collection originates from Steve. While it may seem like a stretch, it’s absolutely true; everything from the whimsical to the traditional is born from Steve sitting at his desk with his trusty drafting pencil and Gus at his feet.

Years ago in one of our first collections, Steve drew a great car tie called “Classic Sports.” A nice step and repeat featuring MGAs and MGBs, it was popular with the gearhead crowd and the dads who missed burnin’ rubber in their whippy British racers. A “car tie” has many options, there being so many models of cars… trucks, convertibles, sedans, but Steve decided on a classic… The Volkswagen Beetle. A classic car, das auto, is globally recognized as a unique, reliable, and speedy get around car. Set beside palm trees in two great colors, this tie is also an instant classic.

After a few years of it being absent from the collection, a trip to Los Angeles inspired Steve once more. Having met a friend in Pasadena, Steve was taken with the easygoing nature of the The Golden State. After his friend mentioned an old VW Beetle of his, well, the gears started shifting and “Boomer Bugs” was born, embodying that little touch of California cool we all know and love. Dude…. it’s just a killer tie man.

 

The Perfect Summer Tie

Here at Bird Dog Bay, we have always been known for our certain brand of sophisticated whimsy. Steve Mayer, our founder, designer, and resident dog walker, illustrates roughly forty designs per collection twice per year. For ages now, Steve has been working on our unique whimsical silks, but each new season brings a number of traditional options, as well.

Linen Stripe, as seen here, is one of those “traditional” designs. When designing Linen Stripe, Steve did not set out to reinvent the wheel, but only hoped to teach an old dog new tricks. Instead of utilizing silk as exclusively done in the past, he opted for a 50/50 blend of silk and linen to give the tie a great seasonal feel. This combination allows the tie to have a remarkably casual feel, making it the perfect match with a seersucker suit or navy blazer for those more casual summer occasions.

Shop our entire collection today at birddogbay.com

Steve has taken his most successful silk designs and printed them on 100% cotton boxer for all you sporting enthusiasts. Made of high quality cotton, these boxers have a comfortable cut with no tag on the back, as well as a seamless backside… This means no itching or “riding up” if you catch my drifty. They are a great gift and who doesn’t need more underwear… The hunting orange color makes them every sportsman’s dream pair of boxers. They come to you gift packaged and are sure to be a “blast”… Give em’ a try, you will call us back to order more.

 

Bird Dog Bay 12 Gauge Cufflinks

Cufflinks are such a timeless, and classic accessory for gentleman. Bird Dog Bay has made a mark by creating our own unique shotgun shell cufflinks that make one heck of a statement. Imagine walking up to the bar to place a drink order, and upon your drink arriving, you take your hands out of your pockets and place them upon the bar. Anyone that notices your Bird Dog Bay shotgun shell cufflinks will know you dress like a man.

Our 12 gauge links are the perfect gift for the sportsman, the businessman, or both… They are a blast! literally… Try out the black 12 gauge links with a tuxedo, the red 12 gauge links with a sport coat, or the orange 12 gauge links without a jacket for a more casual look. Anyway you go, you are sure to be a big SHOT!

 

Tennis ties can be seen as a classic. In the sport’s origins, players actually wore ties on the court… quite a different style from today’s sleeveless shirt, backwards cap swinging stars of the game. here at Bird Dog Bay, we have always been fans of the gentlemen’s game. Racket Love was, one of Bird Dog bay’s most popular tennis ties, and this Spring, We introduced a new tennis tie! It is named What a Racket, and has already been a grand slam smash! It is “served” in a couple different colors and it a great tie to wear at the club or the office, especially during Wimbledon, or the US Open!

Always on the hunt to innovate in new ways, Steve really wanted to combine our renowned whimsy with a clean, neat pattern. These efforts delivered this number; tie it on and we guarantee you’ll get some love even when off the tennis court. It’s a hit!

Here at Bird Dog Bay, Steve is always always looking to give our fans we they want! We value feedback, and love recommendations of items to bring into the line… Our peruvian pima cotton dress socks have been a great way to introduction fun whimsical design ideas into the line… We would like to point out a great summer sock to get the conversation started at the club this summer…

The Mermaid sock is a great nautical nod to the beauty beneath the waves. This sock has a bright and summer time color pattern that is perfect for an afternoon by the shore, or dinner on the town.

Ahoy! What a fun sock… Keep giving us feedback and maybe someday there could be a dinosaur sock, or a zebra sock, or even a Sasquatch sock! Who knows?!?! Steve loves to give the people what they want!

Steve has always had fond memories of fishing with his dad… this is illustrated (literally) in many of our designs here at Bird Dog Bay. Steve has conducted hundred of hours of research into certain types of fish, the best way to illustrate them, and which fish look the best on silk neckties, socks, and other Bird Dog Bay accessories.

Small Bills has quickly become a Bird Dog Bay favorite. In several fun colors, these tie has a marlin, swordfish, and sailfish! All in one tie! The way the colors of the fish contrast with the bright tie make this one a great catch!

Blue marlin is an older design that also makes for a great conversation starter… Several Marlin enthusiast publications have reached out to us with numerous accolades about this whimsy design!

Finally, Steve’s silk drawings were so well like, that he made them into a pair of pima cotton dress socks! Sailfish dress socks to be exact! Big Bills gives those retired men not needing to don a tie, a reason to wear some big fish themed accessory!

 

There ya have it! Bird Dog Bay is the place for marlin themed ties, fish themed gifts, and sailfish socks for all!