Do you wonder why I call him Nicholas sometimes and Miller other times? Me too. It started in college. I called him Miller way before we were dating, and it's just something that stuck. He likes it, and as it turns out, my great-grandmother called her husband by their last name, Pickett, so I figure I'm just keeping up family tradition.
Anyway, Mr. Orms is an extremely talented silversmith whose engraved buckles are some of the very finest anywhere in the world. They are done in the traditional, historic Texas style. His work is so detailed and fine that you almost need a magnifying glass to see all the tiny etchings made into the metal - the work of a true master craftsman. Needless to say, this was a very nice gift from his father (an avid gun collector who appreciates this fine art of engraving) for passing the bar last summer, and Miller was very excited to make his selection:
There were literally hundreds of options to choose from, but he knew what he wanted when he saw it. He loves to bird hunt, so this suits him perfectly. Mr. Orms also offered to put some Longhorns on the underside of the tips, a subtle nod to the meaning behind the gift.
I should have had my much taller husband take this, but I was struggling with the lighting in manual mode as it was. I couldn't get the camera high enough over the tray of belts and couldn't lean in enough due to the large watermelon protrusion in between me and the counter. So, this didn't exactly showcase the engravings like I wanted them to. You win some, you lose some.
Despite this sign above the door, once we'd picked out the buckle, Mr. Orms asked if we wanted a little tour of his workshop.
Here's an early sketch of a custom buckle;
This is how they start the die molding process; eventually it would be shrunk down to the size of something that would fit on the buckle. I think it might be similar to the process for casting bronzes?
A few exotic animal dies - so neat.
I'm so nerdily into anything artistic like this, and I loved seeing his design process at work. It's clear Mr. Orms has such a passion for what he does. This stop was a treat for us both, and Nicholas came away with a mighty nice souvenir to show for it.
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