We were lucky to catch up with Doug Skinkis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Doug , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

Since I was a child, I have always been able to draw. It was just something that came easy to me. I understood dimensions and shading and had fun using different mediums. But after a while I became tired of pencils, charcoal, or paints. Well, way back in my younger days (and that was way, way back) I was dating a girl who broke the leg off her wooden coffee table. She wanted to throw it out. I said, “What? It’s just a broken leg. I can fix that.” I took the table home and fixed the leg and then it hit me. I remembered seeing a commercial for Frank’s Nursery and Crafts, which is like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, and this tool that they called a woodburning tool. I looked at the table and thought to myself, “Hmmm…she was going to throw it out anyway, right?” So, I sanded this dark wood table down on the top, drew a picture of a cowboy on a horse with mountains behind him and then burnt the image into the tabletop. That was my first experience with Pyrography. Pyrography is the art of burning wood or other surfaces. The coffee table came out so cool. She couldn’t believe I had transformed this piece of junk table into a work of art. She broke up with me not long after that. Man, I wish I could get that table back now! Anyway, I loved the act of woodburning so much that I created more pictures. In the early days I gave most of them away to friends, but then people wanted to buy them off me. And that was the start of my passion. My art. I’m lucky to now be married to a wonderful woman named Cathy. We met in Montana, and she loves to decorate our home in a western, cowboy-like fashion so there’s plenty of opportunity to burn stuff. I moved from just burning wood, to deer and cow skulls, to hats. And now, I not only burn designs into wool hats, but I’m making my own hats from scratch. I’m a Hatter or Hatmaker, and I love it. I’ve run into some fantastic artists in my day who have graciously shared their talents with me. Little tips and tricks have taken my artwork from a hobby to a small business.

Doug , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Being able to draw or burn images onto paper, wood, skulls, or hats is something that I’m sure other people can do, but I think there’s a line that some cannot seem to cross. It’s the design aspect of what you’re creating and the imagination to come up with something that a typical person would not think of. That is what sets artists apart from people who can just draw. I pride myself on taking a person’s basic ideas and turning them into something unique. I don’t make copies or prints of my work. I like to create one-of-a-kind pieces. When I make something for you, you own the only copy of it. No two pieces are the same. I’m not into this to take advantage of people or make a ton of money. I want to create artwork that people can hand down to their kids, and then their kids’ kids, and so on. I like to refer to my hats as ‘legacy hats’ that a person can hand down to their child and then the grandchild gets it and says, “This used to be Grandma or Grandpa’s hat.” That is what I hope to leave behind when I’m gone. God has given me a gift that cannot be wasted. I said a prayer when we moved to Florida about 7 years ago and asked God to show me why he gave me the gift. I didn’t want it all to be about the income. Since that day, I have had many people come to me with stories behind the art they wanted me to create. Sadly enough, those stories tend to involve pets that have passed away or people they know whose life came to an end way to soon. God sent those people to remind me that what I’m doing is bringing them peace…somehow. I love drawing animals, especially horses. Burning a picture of a person’s horse onto a hat for them to show off is so rewarding to me. Coming soon … dogs! I mean, why not, right?

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I never would have been known for doing what I do without friends. I have so many people in my life that inspire me, tell people about me, and keep me pushing. My wife often sees things at pop-up events or online and says, “Hey, can you make that for me?” Being a smart husband, I say, “Sure, I’ll give that a try.” She encourages me and helps me pick out colors! My son will help with that too. See, one thing that many people don’t know about me is that I’m “color challenged”. I’m not color blind. I can see colors. But I’m often guessing is that yellow or green and is that blue or purple? There are certain colors and shades of colors that I just have a hard time with. My wife and son, Gavin, often help me to pick out the right colors. My Mom always compliments my work and my Dad was a constant critic. But not in a bad way. He always would say things to make me re-see my art and double check things to make them right. It frustrated me at times, but also helped me to take a step back and not be so quick to say, “all done”. There are friends that I collaborate with, and we help each other to become better at our crafts. I love them all and am so appreciative of the support they give.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’m on a mission to keep drawing by hand. There are too many people using computers and lasers to burn designs onto things. I get it…the design comes out perfect. But isn’t there a lure to hand-made artwork anymore? I will not go to laser burning. I will continue to do my art by hand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.burntandbranded.com
• Instagram: Burnt and Branded
• Facebook: Burnt and Branded
• Other: Email is [email protected] (not burntandbranded)