Some great accessories are found right here at Stadri, mainly our custom made paintball patches. These detail oriented patches are of great help to seasoned Paintball players who are looking to brand their teams and/or have their teams’ logos on their equipment and clothing for recognition purposes. This is especially important in tournaments, as each team has its own patch on its uniforms or equipment.

One of our favorite Paintball patches is the patch for Viper Paintball that you see here. This patch is the perfect Paintball patch for several reasons.

• The detail is bold and simple. In a high-energy, fast-paced Paintball game, teammates and opponents need to be differentiated within a fraction of a second. Having a simple, non-complicated design is essential to this.
• The colors in this patch are bold and bright. Much like the reason stated in the first example, bright, neon colors help a team to be easily identified. Stadri offers neon threads in multiple colors, as well as glow-in-the-dark threads and reflective twills.
• This design could be interpreted as threatening, which is ideal for the atmosphere of competition found in Paintball.

A lot of people start playing paintball because they get excited about the idea and want to give it a go. Those who stick to the game for the long run reap the rewards of being part of a team that will gain recognition as it moves up in rank and popularity in the paintball world. Even more important is showcasing good sportsmanship and taking pride in being part of a team that has a name and stands together to become number one, and to really show the world the uniqueness of your team and how good you are at this wonderful sport. This is one of many reasons to have Stadri patches on your Paintball uniforms or equipment.

We encourage new and seasoned Paintball players to be active in the sport! For those of you who are interested in getting involved in the sport but don’t have the budget to purchase expensive gear right off the bat, we have a solution. First of all, we only provide the lowest-priced Paintball patches anywhere. And for your gear and accessories, there’s paintballgunsforsalenow.com. Between us and them, you will save hundreds!

With all this variety among motorcycle patches, “In Memory” patches are often forgotten, perhaps because not all motorcycle groups make use of them. But among the groups that do, these patches often hold more meaning than even their large back patches. It’s unfortunate that something that brings as much joy as riding a motorcycle also comes with a measure of danger and risk. Sadly, many individuals die each year as a result of motorcycle accidents, bringing great pain to loved ones and to those whom the individual rode with. Custom “In Memory” patches are the perfect way to honor the memory of a rider who has passed away.

Consider the case of the Mac Carkhuff Foundation, which is a non-profit organization, formed in remembrance of a former rider.  Mac was killed in a motorcycle accident on August 27, 2005.  Mac was an avid football player, graduating from high school as a Scholar Athlete and continuing to play in college, at the same time earning his Master’s in Criminal Justice at St. Cloud State University, MN.  All these credentials aside, Mac was best known for his insatiable desire to ride motorcycles, snowmobile, travel, and spend time with family and friends.  When Mac was killed, he left behind many family, friends, and his fiancé-to-be, Suzette Olson, who led the forming of the Mac Carkhuff Foundation. Their goal? “To spread Mac’s positive energy to the causes he felt so strongly about.”

Suzette Olson describes her motivation for ordering “In Memory” patches from Stadri Emblems. “When Mac (my fiancé to be) was killed August 27, 2005, my world fell apart.  I missed him so much, and I knew his friends did as well.  He was an avid motorcycle and snowmobile rider, and had groups of friends that enjoyed doing these activities with him.  I didn’t want him to be forgotten, and I wanted these special groups of people to feel his presence while they continued to do these activities that Mac loved.  I decided to design a patch and give them to all the people that were so special to him.  A few others heard about the patch and sent some checks to put towards the Mac Carkhuff Foundation in return for a patch.  I know many of his friends have sewn the patches to the inside of their jackets in support of Mac.”

The MCF has taken Mac’s passion for life and past experiences to help advance other organizations.

Suzette says, “If I can get enough interest in the patches I would definitely try to use them in conjunction with our annual golf event fund raiser that we put on every October.  We use the money raised from the golf event/silent auction to award our local high school Scholar Athlete with a generous Scholarship each year.  We have been able to do this for 6 years now!”

Mac’s motto was, “I’ve never had a bad day; some days are just better than others.”  The MCF members hope that even if you didn’t know Mac, you would be able to make a donation or join them in a fun day of golf, food, and beverage!

Bethel Indoor Track & Field ALL wearing the angel patches

My name is Yvonne Grimes and I live in Sandy Hook, CT. I also coach track & Field in Bethel, CT, the next town over. Linda Mills and I requested the Angels from your company. They are so very beautiful! Proudly wearing the patches are track teams in our league, basketball teams, swim teams (on their jackets); students from Sandy Hook have them on their lockers. Newtown High School staff and students have them; the families that lost their children have them . . . many on their front doors. They have been sent out in thank you letters. They have been sent to loved ones around the world. Umpires and sports officials around the state are wearing them. My son gave one to Yankee pitcher Mariano Rivera when he came to give a clinic in our area.

I can not thank you enough! Your generosity and wonderful act of kindness has touched many many people. No money was taken for any of them. People asked and we gave them all away . . . happily!!

May God bless you all! THANK YOU!!!!

Let’s get right into it. What do you think of this patch?

Pretty nice, right? Thick, tight stitching, great color contrast and layering, clean text, and appealing directional stitching on the bell. If you submitted this design and received this patch, I’m sure you’d be satisfied.

But what if . . .

[Keep scrolling; I’m creating suspense.]

What if you received this patch?

Wow! Why does that patch look so different—so much better?

One word: size. The patch in the first example is four inches overall. The bottom patch is 9.5 inches overall.

Larger patches simply look better. Why is this? For one thing, embroidery is radically different from pencil and ink, and even more radically different from computer graphics. Embroidery has one key limitation—thickness of the threads being used.

This concept carries over to all forms of physical art. Think of an artist creating a pencil sketch. What does he do if finer detail is required? He sharpens his pencil, thus making the tip smaller so he can achieve more detail. Perhaps he even has a case full of pencils, each with different tip thicknesses. What if a painter is in a similar situation, working on a very small section of her canvas? She’ll switch to a smaller brush.

When it comes to embroidery, threads are a set thickness. Yes, there are different deniers of thickness available; however, a thread can only be made so small before durability is compromised. If we go back to our illustration of a painter, imagine she needed to paint a zebra that had to be detailed and accurate down to the smallest stripe. Now, imagine she had only one, moderately sized brush. Using that one brush, do you think her zebra would look best if she were to paint it on a canvas of two square-inches or six square-inches? I’m sure you understand the concept.

Here are a few more examples to help you get a better idea.

A small disclaimer so as not to confuse you: Regardless of the real life size of the patches depicted, I’ve made all the images similar in size in order for you to clearly see their detail.

Looks great, doesn’t it? The patch is cut to shape very nicely with a triple border; all lettering is clear and clean. Even a blending of colors was expertly achieved in the lettering. “This patch couldn’t possibly look any better,” you may say.

Think again!

Ah, beautiful. Look at the blending in those letters now. Note how much better the “EST 1984” looks, even though it looked awesome before. Contrast the grays in the background and the borders. Amazing, isn’t it?

Here’s another one.

What a nice-looking diecut, 100% embroidered patch we made for Hardway Garage. Our customers don’t always tell us how their patches are going to be used, but we can only assume these 4.5 inch patches will be sewn onto the front of the mechanics’ uniforms. And don’t they look good?

We can also assume this same garage wanted to have patches for the backs of their mechanics’ uniforms as well—perhaps so that from afar, everyone would be able to easily recognize which individuals were the actual mechanics. What would this same design look like as a back patch, say at 13 inches or so?

BAM!

Wow! This patch is so crystal clear, that you almost can’t even see the stitching!

A quick note: Many people prefer to be able to clearly see the stitching on a patch and may actually tell you they prefer the look of the smaller example. When you increase patch size, at what point does the look of embroidery start to fade? In short, it all depends on the complexity of the design, as well as how many large areas of solid color exist. At the time of your order, you can ask your knowledgeable and well-trained account executive for advice and recommendations about your particular design.

Now, let’s do a familiar design—the American Flag.

Not spectacular—we admit it. But this patch is a mere 1.5 x 1 inches.

Getting better at 2 x 1.5 inches . . .

Now that’s what I’m talking about. At 3.5 x 2.25 inches, this looks perfect, no?

At 5 x 3, it’s still better. If the differences aren’t readily apparent to you, I’ll help you out. The most obvious difference is the stars, which I think is now self-explanatory if you look at both sets. But also look at the stripes. In the 3.5 x 2.25” example, you can clearly see the stitching, especially in the white. But in this example, all stitching is perfectly clean and tight. Once again, size makes all the difference.

Here are a few more examples for your viewing pleasure.

You may notice the following example has variations in text; however, the difference in the clarity of the text can still be easily discerned. Pay particular attention to the center design.

Not too shabby. Although only four inches, it’s still quite easy to discern exactly what is going on in this patch.

It gets better, though. In this twelve inch patch, the flames look more like flames; the bikes have greater detail; and you can make out not only the center guy’s face, but his expression as well.

How about the difference between twelve inches and 17.5 inches? The least subtle differences are the flames and the road. If you have a longer attention span than I do, you’ll find many more subtle differences between the two.

The previous example naturally begs the question: Do embroidered patches ever reach the point where increasing the size yields very little improvement? The answer is yes! Once a patch has reached it’s full potential—when all detail is as big as or bigger than a thread itself—increasing the size will no longer have an effect. OK, that may not be 100% true. It will have the effect of inciting someone to say, “Holy cow! That’s the biggest patch I’ve ever seen!”

If you’ve come this far, you must have an intensive interest in learning about embroidered patches, so I’ll give you a few more things to look at.

If you have a good eye for detail, you may be asking yourself the following two questions:

1) Why are the border sizes on some of the examples larger on the smaller patches?
2) Why have you mostly been showing biker patches and why are all your examples huge size jumps? Don’t you have any examples that show variations of only a couple of inches?

First off, when you see major differences in border sizes when the patch sizes are different, this means the borders are merrowed. Merrowed borders are always 1/8”. Something 1/8” will appear larger on a small patch and smaller on a large patch.

I have been mostly showing biker patches with dramatic size variations for two reasons:

1) Bikers order different size variations more than any other type of patch customer.
2) Bikers’ size variations tend to be significant, as they often order large patches for the backs of their jackets or vests, as well as small patches of the same design for the fronts of these jackets and vests.

So, is there a noticeable difference in quality when patches are two or perhaps only one inch apart? Certainly. Here are a few examples.

What do we take away from all this?

While Stadri has a special knack for fitting tremendous amounts of detail into small spaces, due to physical limitations of thread, larger sizes look better. That’s not to say we’re encouraging you to order twelve inch patches—for most organizations, these are completely unnecessary and excessive. Not to mention you can get fabulous looking patches at smaller sizes, which we’ve shown here. However, if you find your design to be rich in detail, increasing the overall size by one inch or even half an inch can sometimes make all the difference.  You’re not left alone to make this decision. Our dedicated Account Executives and in-house Art Department will guide you through the entire process.

Armed with your newfound confidence, are you ready to design your own patch?

Already have your patch designed? Great! Get a quote now!

Quincy the Duck

Quincy is a Pekin duck. She was found when a friend of the Sanctuary was in a New York City park and noticed someone letting a tiny yellow duckling loose near a pond. Sadly, it is not uncommon for people to misguidedly purchase ducklings and other baby animals as gifts for birthdays or Easter, only to get rid of the animals after the holiday. The friend of the sanctuary, knowing that the little duckling would not fare very well all alone and would be completely vulnerable, intervened. She told the people about Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, and convinced them it would be the compassionate choice for the teeny bird’s new home. When Quincy first arrived, she had never been in water. She now has a pond in which to swim and frolic all day long, and has fallen in what looks like love, to us humans! Ducks are very chivalrous animals, and another resident duck, Teddy, took an immediate liking to Quincy. The two have been inseparable ever since, and can always be seen together preening, swimming, or enjoying the sunshine.

Daphne the Rabbit

Daphne was abandoned on the side of Glasco Turnpike, which just so happens to be the road the Stadri Emblems headquarters is located on. A family of tourists saw her hopping nervously along the busy road, and stopped to save her and brought her to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Daphne spends her days out in the specially-designed bunny area of the sanctuary. Daphne is very fast, and enjoys thumping and running about. Frisky and clever, she delights in playing what looks like a bunny version of hide-and-seek with her friends. The photo to the right shows Daphne snuggling in for a nap with her friend Appoline.

I haven’t noticed Daphne any of the times I’ve volunteered at the sanctuary, but I will be sure to keep my eye out next time I go. Maybe I’ll even take some adorable pictures of my own and post them here for you to see.

Ophelia the Hen

Ophelia was abandoned and left in a supply compartment on a New York City fire truck. When the firemen found her in the truck’s compartment, they called animal control, who in turn contacted the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Ophelia has since been enjoying life there and loves to have her feathers stroked. Reportedly, she’ll sit on your lap or nestle in next to you for some quality hanging out time, if you’ll let her!

A couple a weeks ago I was trying to get a wheelbarrow through the gate to one of the chicken enclosures, and while I was doing that, all the chickens ran right under the wheelbarrow and got free! I must have looked very silly chasing a dozen chickens around the property only to be told, “It’s OK if they get out. They’re birds. They can just fly over the top of the fence any time they want.”

Beatrice the Turkey

Beatrice came from a commercial turkey farm, but was spared the usual fate when she was purchased live and given as a Thanksgiving gift to a man who ended up being unable to care for her.

Since Beatrice arrived at the sanctuary, staff and volunteers have been charmed by her friendly and affectionate nature.

I’ve personally had quite extensive contact with Beatrice, because she loves to follow me around and watch me work. She’ll frequently nip at my gloved hand, hoping to find food there. She always seems quite satisfied when I stop what I’m doing and take time to pet her.

Ashton the Sheep

Ashton is a handsome and gentle sheep who was found at only a few months old running along the streets of New York City—a clear indication he had escaped from one of the hundreds of live animal markets that exist hidden from public view throughout the five boroughs.

When he first arrived at the sanctuary he was extremely sick and had to be kept under strict quarantine for the first few weeks. Thankfully, with the loving care he received he regained his health completely.

He is a large sheep who is protective of his friends, and is often seen grazing and playing in the field. He is also the group “look-out,” and is the first to approach visitors with his inquisitive nature and sweet face.

I’m not very good with sheep; they all look the same to me. But one thing I did notice when I was there is the fact that they were all very timid and skittish—all but one, who walked right up to me. I wonder if it was Ashton.

Star the Goat

Star is actually an intersexed goat, whom we’ll refer to as a she. Star was owned by a farmer looking to “get rid of” her because she was of “no use to him.” She was adopted by a local actor who already had two goats at his Hudson Valley residence. After a few years, Star’s buddies passed away, and Star became very lonely and depressed. While the sanctuary doesn’t normally take animals who already have good homes, in this case Star’s emotional quality of life was being affected.

Star is one of the most friendly animals on the farm and has free reign of it, wandering where she pleases. She loves to be brushed and readily seeks out attention from other goats, as well as turkeys, visitors, and even cats! She is my absolute favorite animal on the farm. We bonded the very first day I volunteered there. I was cleaning the goat barn and she followed me and stood next to me wherever I was, for the entire time, just looking up at me. Star is a breed of goat normally killed for meat, and when I took the time to stop and pet her, I looked deep into her eyes, pictured her on someone’s plate, and was almost moved to tears.

Every time I go to the sanctuary, I now make it a point to go over to Star and say hello, but this is hardly necessary, as she always finds me! Just last week I was cleaning out her part of the barn. It took me twice as long to do, because Star was right behind me the whole time and kept nuzzling her head into my back, trying to get me to pet her. Of course, I stopped and gave in many times in that two hour period. Whenever I’m away from the sanctuary, I miss her. I feel about her the way most people feel about dogs and cats.

To the right is a photo I took last week of Star just chilling in the barn.

Curly the Pig

Curly was an “item” up for auction, listed as a “slaughtered pig” prize. Basically, the winner would get to choose a pig from a “free-range” farm, and the pig would be slaughtered for him/her. One family was so horrified by this that they bid the highest in order to save the piglet. The six-year-old member of the family, Samuel, was drawn to the smallest piglet and chose her to be the one who was saved. He named her Curly Tail after one of the characters in his favorite story, The Pig’s Wedding.

Initially terrified, within less than 24 hours Curly was accepting belly rubs and showing off her beautiful markings. Curly is making many new human and pig friends at the sanctuary and loves to root in the fields and muddy areas during the day.

While there, I have seen a very adorable pig that is smaller than the others and has darker hair. I’m pretty sure it is Curly.

Maybelle the Cow

Maybelle was used as a display in a milking exhibit of a New York business that features people dressed in period costumes showing what 18th century colonial life was like. After four years, the staff decided to terminate the milking exhibit and reached out to the sanctuary in an effort to find Maybelle a home.

When Maybelle arrived on a sunny January morning, she and another resident cow, Kayli, started pushing their heads together hard—a way cows play and establish who’s boss. They turned out to be an equal match, and soon became the best of friends, running around the pasture together, munching contentedly on grass and accepting plenty of love from human friends. They can always be seen together, grooming each other, playing, basking in the sun, and roaming their pasture with their new friend, Mike Jr.

Above is a picture I took of Maybelle eating hay in one of the barns. She was only there a short while before Mike Jr. came in and joined her.

Up close Maybelle looks so beautiful and peaceful. She is the type that makes people instantly fall in love with her.

We will be sponsoring a few more animals in the near future, as we got a few additional sets of fifty likes over the Sanctuary Seven requirement.

There is still time to give even more animals the opportunity to get sponsored. This campaign lasts until the end of the year, so if you haven’t yet ‘liked’ us on Facebook, you can do it right now.

In our previous post, a few of you requested that we sponsor Diane, the mule. There does not seem to be an option on their website to do this. I’ll have to ask them about it the next time I go there.

The next time I volunteer, I’ll be sure to seek out the rest of our animals and take plenty of pictures and post them here for you!

“Kayli the cow lifted completely off the planet for a few seconds out of sheer joy of being in a new pasture.” Courtesy of The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

Nestled within a small borough in the Catskill Mountains just outside of Woodstock, NY, is a delightful sanctuary for farm animals, rescued from cases of abuse, neglect, and abandonment—mostly from factory farm slaughterhouses, but also from the streets of New York City. Known as the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, this sanctuary provides refuge and shelter to cows, pigs, sheep and goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, and even a lone mule.

Most of the staff at Stadri Emblems are passionate animal lovers, especially Kynan, our General Manager, who is heavily involved in animal rescue. When a neglected or abandoned kitten, puppy, squirrel, bird, or rabbit is found, she’s the one who gets the call. These types of popular animals are well-loved by most and get much support. However, I got to thinking: what about all those animals that don’t cross our path or register on our radar from day to day?

I recently had the privilege of volunteering at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and getting to interact with these animals first hand. The experience proved to be both humbling and eye-opening. It’s amazing how many of us go through life completely disconnected with these amazing creatures. Who knew a pig is the third smartest animal on the planet or that the term “mother hen” sprung from the fact that hens are such devoted mothers and enjoy the task so much that, if given the opportunity, they will adopt and care for bunnies, kittens, and even whole litters of puppies?

Ashton the Sheep, courtesy of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

Stadri Emblems is launching a campaign to support these animals (lasting until the end of this year), and we need your help! Here’s what you can do.

1) We are planning to sponsor an animal, but which kind of animal should we sponsor? Tell us in the comments whether you want us to sponsor a chicken, rabbit, duck, goose, turkey, goat, lamb, pig, or cow.

2) We are also planning to sponsor additional animals. For every additional 50 Facebook likes, Twitter followers, or newsletter signups we receive, we will sponsor an additional animal.

3) If you’re particularly moved by the pain and suffering of these neglected animals, you can sponsor an animal directly.

So please, act now, and we’ll help more and more of these animals in need. We’ll even make it extra easy for you. Help these animals with one click of your mouse!

‘Like’ Us:

‘Follow’ Us: Follow @StadriEmblems

Subscribe:

For every animal we sponsor, we’ll receive a photograph as well as information about our animal’s life story. So check back to see if the animal you vote for gets sponsored!

Image courtesy of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

From now until the end of the year, all donations made to the sanctuary will be matched by a generous donor. Please effortlessly help Stadri Emblems make a difference in the lives of these amazing animals!

Additional Information:
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary Website
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary Facebook Page

This campaign will last until the end of 2012 or until we reach 1,000 likes, whichever comes first.

The Eagle is one of the most popular choices to represent military units and motorcycle groups alike. Here we will display five of our favorite eagle patch designs.

Black Eagle A.B.A.T.E.

A.B.A.T.E. stands for American Bikers Aiming Toward Education. ABATE of Montana is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving motorcyclists’ freedom of choice and freedom of the road. They are a social membership-driven organization whose main goal is to protect motorcyclists’ rights and to promote motorcycle safety and awareness.

This 100% embroidered, nine-color, diecut patch displays how the look of shading and dimension can be achieved successfully—given the overall patch size is large enough.

Operation Injured Soldiers

Operation Injured Soldiers was founded by a veteran of the war in Iraq who was wounded in the line of duty. During his recovery, he dreamed of helping other veterans with disabilities get back to the normal activities of life, such as participating in sports and hobbies they enjoyed before being deployed, including hunting, fishing, sporting events, and camping trips, along with many other outdoor recreational activities—the goal of these being to help with the soldiers’ physical and mental rehabilitation.

This patch is less than 100% embroidered; the white area behind the text is twill, and the center design is all stitched. Tip: for large areas of sold color—particularly those behind text—a less than 100% embroidered patch can often look as good as a fully embroidered patch, but is less expensive.

Semper Pro Bono

This beautiful diecut patch honors the memory of our prisoners of war who are still missing in action. All of the design is stitched except for the black background. Take special note of the awesome detail achieved on the eagle’s body.

Central Valley Star Riders

The International Star Riders Association is a Northern California Based group dedicated to enjoying the open road and great fellowship with others who enjoy the same thing. The association has over 32,500 members worldwide.

This patch is 10.5” overall, allowing it to be super clean and sharp; even the small ISRA logo is legible. We’re particularly proud of the level of detail and crispness achieved in the eagle’s wings.

Warriors Motorcycle Club

A very creative way to, while riding, honor our missing prisoners of war: an eagle with tattered flags as wings. We can’t say for sure, but it appears this eagle has a six-pack; and the tops of its wings sure look like muscular human arms. This patch has a black twill background and utilizes nine colors.

Would you like to order customized eagle patches of your own? As you can see from the images above, Stadri offers the highest quality possible, but did you know we also have the lowest prices anywhere?

Get an instant quote!

Rose Brucia Educational Foundation

The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation is a is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose goal is to reduce the number of child abductions in America by educating and empowering young minds with the knowledge necessary to avoid abduction. The foundation was founded by Matthew J. Barbis when his 11 year-old cousin, Carlie Brucia, was abducted and murdered in Sarasota, Florida in 2004.

Matthew says his real inspiration behind forming the foundation was the life-changing effect of watching his family suffer. “Carlie’s abduction was highly publicized and now stands as a call to action for families and individuals everywhere to stand up to child predators!

The foundation raises awareness in two main ways. One is by visiting elementary schools and performing, utilizing puppets and simple self-defense techniques. They also participate in the Stranger Safety Awareness Program, which stresses three fundamental concepts: awareness, safety, and trust. The program keeps students active and engaged by means of a multimedia platform. These programs are free to every parent, teacher, and school district in the U.S.

The patches you see here are meant to be stranger safety badges for Girl Scouts to sew onto their sashes upon completion of the educational lesson regarding stranger safety. They are woven patches; therefore, even at 1.75” the quality is outstanding. Text comes out very clean on woven patches—as you can see from the “Rose Brucia” text, specialized and small fonts are rarely an issue.

Rusty Johnson and Nets For Niños

Rusty Johnson is an explorer, wildlife expert, author, and keynote speaker, having given over 3,000 lectures at venues such as Princeton University and The New York Botanical Gardens. He specializes in ecotourism, adventure travel, research, documentary filming, and environmental and humanitarian projects, making many trips to villages in South America and Africa, where he leads expeditions and delivers medical supplies, dental-care kits, clothing, and life-saving malaria nets. The most notable of these humanitarian projects is Nets for Ninos, which delivers mosquito nets to families in the Amazon region with the hopes that they can begin to protect these children from Malaria.

From the first time we heard about Rusty and his passion for protecting the children of the Amazon from malaria, we knew we wanted to do all we could to support his work; therefore, Stadri donated $1,000 to the cause, which provided nets for 100 children. In addition to donating the money for the nets, Stadri designed, free of charge, a set of woven patches and silicone wristbands to help Rusty promote his Nets for Ninos program in local schools and on his popular lecture circuit.

Stadri’s involvement in this initiative is part of an ongoing business commitment on the company’s part to give back to the global community through charitable donations and promotional support of various causes.

What do you think? Are custom patches appropriate for your charity? Have you considered designing a set of patches and making them available for sale, with all proceeds going toward your charity? People love wearing embroidered patches, especially when these patches showcase their involvement or support of a cause they’re passionate about. Give it a shot; get your free quote now.

Rusty stops by the Stadri Emblems headquarters and educates the staff about various types of wild birds.

SpiralScouts offers many of the traditional woodland lore, camping, and outdoor living skills, but also includes teaching the many mythologies of the ancient world. It also teaches and helps youths to cultivate many life and interpersonal skills such as developing good relationships with peers and adults, and honoring and respecting others who may be different. To aid in this, both a male and a female adult lead each group, which helps youths to understand how differing leadership styles can cooperate and work together for the benefit of the whole group. It also shows by example that both men and women are capable, cooperative leaders. Children are allowed to make many of the decisions in regard to activities they do and how SpiralScouts works for them, thereby helping them grow into strong, competent members of society.

SprialScouts’ Patches and Badges

Being a growing scouting organization, SpiralScouts needed a reliable company to produce the badges they needed. One of their board members found Stadri Emblems, and they’ve since ordered several dozen patches from us. Among the most prominent are the badges given to the four program level ranks.

RainDrops – Ages 3 to 5

The RainDrop™ Vow:
I make this vow
to remind me now
to be kind & good
like a RainDrop should.

FireFlies – Ages 6 to 9

The FireFly™ Promise:
I promise to serve the Wise Ones,
To Honor and respect Mother Earth,
To be helpful and understanding toward all people,
And always keep love in my heart.

SpiralScouts – Ages 10 to 13

The SpiralScout™ Oath:
A SpiralScout shall:
Respect all living things;
be kind and courteous;
be honorable;
be mindful of his/her words;
seek out knowledge in all forms;
recognize the beauty in all of creation;
offer assistance to others;
value honesty and truth;
honor personal commitments;
and respect the Divine in all things.

PathFinders – Ages 14 to 18

The PathFinder™ Pledge:
I pledge myself to the RainDrop Vow,
The FireFly Promise, the SpiralScouts’s Oath,
And the fulfillment of my commitments,
Made to myself as well as others.
I pledge to serve my brothers and sisters, as I am able,
On our many journeys around the sun together
As I find my way through the world.
The SpiralScouts program is similar to well-known scout organizations such as the BSA and GSA in that the RainDrops, FireFlies, SpiralScouts, and PathFinders work on badges and receive a patch for each badge they finish. These patches are usually put on the youths’ sashes or capuches.

If you are someone who likes to stay off the beaten path, or if you are simply looking for an alternative to mainstream scouting programs, give SpiralScouts a try!

My biker club patch holds many meanings, some obvious, some not so obvious. My patch shows that I’m a member of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club and that I’m proud enough of that membership to wear the club’s logo on the back of my vest. However, that’s only part of the significance of it all.

That patch represents freedom to me! It means I live in a country (Canada) where I enjoy the freedom to join any organization I choose to belong to. It means I have the freedom to own any vehicle I can afford. It means I have the freedom to ride my beloved Goldwing anywhere I want, without needing permission from some government functionary ahead of time and justifying my ride to their satisfaction.

How often do we don our riding gear, throw a leg over our bikes, and take off for a few happy hours in the saddle, oblivious to those freedoms we take so much for granted?

Those freedoms are not a universal right enjoyed in every country on earth. Rather, they are rare indeed. Most of the world’s population doesn’t have half the freedom we enjoy. In many countries where they do have the freedom to own and ride a motorcycle, the average citizen’s income prohibits owning anything more expensive than a bicycle. The countries where the combination of freedom and income both allow motorcycling for the average man in the street represent a minor fraction of the world’s population.

My oldest friend Tom, whom I have known since my early teens, just passed away.  Tom joined the Canadian Navy while I went into the Air Force. We were cadets at the same time, went to high school together, drove cab together in Toronto after leaving the service, and later drove cab together in Windsor, Ontario. I was best man at his wedding to Rhonda, who with their son and daughter survive him in British Columbia. Tom and I learned to ride together in the early 1960′s—he on a Harley, I on an Indian. We both donned our country’s uniforms to protect the freedoms I mentioned.

The next time you see someone riding a motorcycle and wearing a club patch, reflect on what that simple sight means—that you are blessed enough to live in one of the freest, most affluent countries on Earth, and be thankful for your good fortune. I know I am.

Author Bio
Paul Elshoff was born in Toronto but has been a resident of Winnipeg since 1976. He has been a motorcyclist since 1961 and is the Founder and First Officer of the Winnipeg chapter of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club. In addition, he has served in various armed forces and cadets and has been a licensed private pilot since 1963.