Join Theo and Mike Rowe for a holiday special where they showcase the definitive made-in-the-USA gift guide, featuring hand-built gems, strangely clever creations, and a few delightfully odd surprises.
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Today we are presenting a special holiday episode where we recommend some genuine made in the USA products just in time for the holiday gift giving season.
These are products that are actually made right here in America.
We really did our research.
So when you're buying something, you're supporting a fellow American.
And joining me for this Merry Mission is a friend with a laundry list of media accomplishments, including the host of Dirty Jobs.
As well as he was host on QVC.
He's America's blue collar champion.
And he's here today to help encourage you to support American Made while checking off your holiday hitter list.
Today's guest is Mr. Mike Rose.
Thank you.
I can't believe we're doing this.
I know.
I mean, we talked about this like a year ago as a goof, like Wayne's World meets QVC to celebrate American manufacturing.
And Theo's like, yeah, man, I'll do that.
We wanted to highlight American creativity.
Yeah.
You know, we want to just create gifts where it's like a lot of times you want to give a gift to somebody and a lot of stuff we buy now in America is from other places.
So it was like, well, let's buy stuff that's from our neighbor, from our fellow American, because then you're kind of given like two gifts.
It's like I'm giving one gift because I am giving an actual physical gift to my friend.
Yeah.
But then I'm giving another gift because the money from it is going towards an American family or an American company.
Well, the thing that got me, man, you've been touring for forever.
We've been to 250-something cities over the past four years.
Yeah.
Well, anybody who gets around the country sees that things are tough in certain areas, like really super tough in other areas.
And the idea of reinvigorating manufacturing and showing people what's possible.
I mean, that's the idea.
Like these products, people should know that nobody paid to be on here.
These are just items that we found made by people that we think are super cool.
And it would be great to crash their website and at the same time, give the audience, you know, something cool to stuff in a stocking.
Yeah, we just picked a lot of stuff that we thought was cool to us, you know?
Yeah.
And like Mike mentioned, we do want to say that none of these products are paid to be here.
And a lot of these products are like companies that we happened upon in different places.
Some of them were businesses that we walked into when we're out on the road.
Some are ones that are near and dear to your heart and places that you've been a champion of for a long time.
And it's just nice to let people know that there is stuff that is made here in our country.
You have to seek it out a little bit.
But that the desire and the ingenuity is still there.
And we put together our best hodgepodge of Christmas gifts that you can give to somebody you care about or even somebody that you don't.
Everything on this show is working, right?
They've got a heartbeat and they figured something out.
And, you know, maybe you can drag them over the finish line.
I think we could start highlighting them.
Shall we jump in?
Let's jump in.
This is our first item from the Sullivan Glove Company.
Hailing from Bend, Oregon, the Sullivan Glove Company has been keeping their premium gloves distinctly American-made since 1941, sourcing everything from within these United States and crafting each glove through their dedicated and domestic 10-person team who managed to churn out over 12,000 pair every year.
Sullivan Glove products are handsome and made for versatility.
They're perfect for a full spectrum of activities from a night out on the town to the ranch or the workshop.
Sullivan gloves stand for warmth, durability, and the American spirit.
Get your special holiday, someone's hands, into some warm, American-made goodness this year.
This feels great.
And what is this?
Leather?
That's elk.
This is deer.
Touch mine with yours.
Do that.
Oh, it's like two animals meeting in the woods, huh?
Here's what you do if you really want to mix it up.
Give me the one on your right hand.
I'll give you the one on my right hand.
Yeah.
I don't know that this has ever been done before at the Sullivan Glove Company.
But, oh, wow, these are, see, that's a heavier-duty glove.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yeah, this has a very Russian sort of we can do it type of thing.
I feel like you definitely, this thing a lot.
You could do a lot.
You could also train that Falcon with this one.
Sure.
The Falcon will come back.
I feel like if you walked outside with this one on, the Falcon will come back.
This was made for work, for sure.
These feel like almost, almost like driving gloves.
There was a guy on the show a while back, a guy, a small guy, which is a child.
And he was on here and he found some gloves just in his pocket.
He found some like latex gloves in his pocket.
These gloves in my pocket.
Are they really?
Rizzler.
That's his name, yeah.
Is that really his name?
Yeah, that's his name.
His first name?
Christian is his real name.
And he's somewhere, he's like six to eight years old.
He's a great kid.
But he actually, we sent him a pair of these.
Remember when I pulled these out?
Yeah.
Well, now I'm going to upgrade something even better.
Check these out.
Feel really nice.
Well, I'll tell you this.
There's nothing I like putting my hand more in than something made right here in America.
I'll tell you that, you know?
I mean, that could have gone a few different ways, but I'm glad it went the way it did towards Sullivan Gloves, man.
I am too.
You know, these gloves were created by Edward Sullivan.
He got started producing gloves for World War II, mainly for the Navy.
That's how this glove company started.
And it's still here.
And it's up in Bend, Oregon.
And I'll tell you a little bit of something about Bend, you know?
That is a resilient place, Michael.
Sure it is, man.
It's the home of the last blockbuster.
You know what I'm saying?
They're stubborn people.
They like to do things their own way.
There's a lot of like, even just the way it's set up there, it's not like a regular little city.
It's little pockets of this and that.
And somebody's in the woods sucking tree sap out of something.
You know, it's just that kind of people.
If I see somebody sucking on something, I'll look the other way.
You know, I'll support them.
You're walking through the woods and you see a fella sidled up to a tree, say maple.
Just slurping it?
Yeah.
And he's sucking on the tree to get the sap out.
Do you approach?
Do you take a photo?
Do you step back?
Oh, I think you wait a few minutes till he steps back and then you just let him spit it on your hot cakes, dude.
That's what I'm saying.
I mean, if it's pure maple, I don't know what he was getting.
But let's get back to the gloves here, Michael.
I do want to say there's only five glove companies left that manufacture in the USA.
They got work gloves, they got driving gloves, they got rodeo gloves, they got going around town gloves.
They're all soft.
They're all supple.
They're all tough.
It's great company.
Yeah, these can be great.
They have classic, it says, leather motorcycle.
Wow.
So if you want to get out there and you want to get your baby girl one of those big sodas and let her sit behind you on a gold wing or something, and you want to get out there and show off.
You want to be a little Sturgis baby out there.
You can do it in these Sullivans.
And they have rodeo and ranch.
If you want to, if you like dipping your nuggets in some deep ranch, you can wear these gloves and do it.
Is that what they mean, you think?
I don't think so.
Oh, these feel good, man.
Honestly, you can feel quality.
Like you really, really, really know it.
You know, you know it when you see it.
You really know it when you touch it.
But when, to your point, when you push your hand slowly into something that is undeniably of quality, then all of your fingers come together in a joyous fist of solidarity.
Come together right now.
And how do they smell?
Like, if you really had to sum it up, what is the aroma?
They smell great.
The insides smell a little different than the outsides, but that's kind of nice.
That's how I like it.
Sullivan gloves.
Thank you guys for sending us a few pairs so that we could show them off.
All you need is glove.
Only in the bang bang Maxwell Silver Ham.
I can't.
Remember that?
That is a serious copyright infringement right there.
Is it?
I'll be amazed if you can get away with that.
You seriously?
We'll see.
The Beatles, they're very grabby with their, what you call their IP.
Yeah.
But yeah, I think when people look back at this and wonder what the heck just happened, the image that's really going to stick with them is the guy in the woods sucking the sap out of the maple tree.
Well, let's chat about a new product here, Mike.
I hate to keep us moving on, but we got a lot of products to hit.
Miles to go before we sleep.
Amen.
Some of those Sullivan gloves are so dexteritous, you could actually enjoy a fine piece of fruit in them.
I got to admit, I hadn't thought about that, but as Tim comes in with these delicious-looking, beautifully wrapped, perfectly boxed pieces of fruit, I will say that the idea of eating them with gloved hands is spieling.
And we're talking about chukar cherries out of Yakima Valley, Washington.
Can you give us a little bit more intel on those?
Can you kill them?
In the heart of Washington State's cherry country, an idea was hatched by a woman named Pam Montgomery, whose family owned a cherry orchard.
As Pam strolled beneath the cherry trees, enamored by the sweet smell of the sun-dried fruits, she began to experiment with storing the cherries without adding any sugars or preservatives, as was recommended.
Instead, Pam made a commitment to keep her cherries additive-free and eventually combined them with chocolate and chukar cherries were born.
Now sold in Seattle's famous Pike Place and from its headquarters in Prosser, Washington.
You can also find these in a variety of cherries and chocolates at chucar.com.
That's chucar.com.
Oh, I love that.
Yeah, you got to think if you think about a cherry, it's really all, some people say it's just a little apple.
Have you ever, seriously heard of anybody refer to a cherry as a little apple?
Ever.
Nope.
All right.
There's no wrong answer, but part of why I wanted to do this was just to sit close enough to you for a protracted period of time to see if I can become one of the few people on the planet with some insight as to how your brain actually works.
Well, I think it actually doesn't.
A lot of times, it's the real truth.
But there is something beautiful about a little cherry because sometimes you want an apple.
Sometimes you want 40 apples and you're like, oh, I can't eat all these 40 apples at one time.
And you see a cherry and you're like, oh, okay.
So I'm going to.
Shawty showed up.
Put some out here.
Yeah, I'd love to have one.
You can see them.
Oh, wow.
They don't look like your normal cherries.
I would say they look like a dehydrated cherry almost.
God, these are good.
I know.
They're amazing.
And I think just knowing that they're natural, knowing they're not all jacked up, like you see a lot of, you know, fruit these days and it's doing peptides.
It's on GLMP1 or whatever.
And it's on, you know, you will get a pair or whatever, and it's been doing creatine.
You're like, what in the hell is this?
It's big as a pumpkin.
You know, the most suspicious thing is the color when they're really super vibrant and when they look so delicious that, you know, that's just not how it is in life, ma'am.
That's not what natural is.
This is natural.
Who would you get these for in your family?
Be honest with me, Mike.
Maybe for an office worker.
You know, it's a thoughtful thing to do.
You know, once you're talking about an ingestible, you are getting into like a personal kind of thing.
You give it to perfect strangers.
Oh, I've sold bad pills to people over the years.
So inviting people to buy something that's good for them is certainly not a problem.
What's a new direction for you then?
Yeah.
Oh, dude, I bought a batch of fake steroids from somebody in high school, injected it into my body for like 12 weeks, dude.
What happened?
I don't know.
Well, look, just for the record, if you're just tuning in, these are cherries.
They're natural cherries.
Don't inject them into your body.
There's no need for it.
Just put it in your mouth, chew it, and let the unmistakable delight of cherries the way God made them wash over your palate and thrill to the delight as it journeys through your digestive tract.
And I'll tell you this, these come in a beautiful case.
What is this?
Look at that.
No, honestly, that's a great point.
That's 9x12, I believe.
Looks about maybe more.
I think that's a foot.
I think that's 12.
I think that's 12 by 9.
Okay.
Well, I guess it'd be the same, wouldn't it?
9 by 12.
No, we wouldn't get a challenge there, Mike.
That's at least a foot.
But the simple fact that you know these chocolate cover cherries are in here sleeping, and I don't want to, I know it's the lights are bright.
I'm going to show these up so the baby girls at home can see them.
There we go.
Hello, Pam.
Hello, Theo.
Yep, that's me.
Thank you so much for being a part of our gift-giving holiday season and inspiring us with your Chukar cherries story.
This is one of our heroes, Mike.
Hi, Pam.
Hi, Mike.
And Pam, tell me this, and thank you so much for joining us today.
How do you, is it shook our shooker?
It's chucker.
Chucker.
It's a bird.
You know the logo that looks like a little penguin?
Yeah.
Well, that's actually a chucker bird.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Congratulations.
Thanks.
And last year we dried 700,000 pounds of cherries.
Holy cow.
Oh, my gosh.
What's the most interesting thing about cherries that the average American would benefit from knowing, but currently doesn't?
Probably the average wouldn't know that this is one of the best places to grow cherries in the world.
So how many people do you employ now?
About 75 a year.
Nice.
We really have focused on using U.S. products, U.S. labor.
Well, that's one of the things that stood out to us whenever we're searching for companies like yours is just the desire to use American products, providing jobs for other Americans.
Having people have a wonderful place where they like to work and customers that enjoy what you're doing, I think that will keep Chucker going.
That's the American dream right there.
Yep.
You're living it.
Exactly.
You're living the American dream through cherries.
I think it's terrific.
Amen.
Well, thank you so much, Pam, for creating Chuck Our Cherries.
And Mike.
I'm literally going to order three of these for the holidays.
My family's going to absolutely love them.
They look great.
And it's just nice to know you're out there doing your thing for as long as you've been doing it.
Congratulations on building something great.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's been my pleasure.
We could keep it moving, Mike.
Why wouldn't we?
I don't think there's any reason not to.
All right.
Oh, yeah, this is a good one.
Crippling hot sauce.
When life gives you lemons, make hot sauce.
In a small Missouri town, Drew Davis did just that.
Born with cerebral palsy, Drew started crippling hot sauce at 16 with $3,000, a folding table, and his grandmother's kitchen.
What began as a high school project became a national movement, selling over 500,000 bottles.
This incredible feat is one built on family, faith, and the belief that strength comes in all forms.
Every bottle is made and bottled here in America with bold, original flavors like spicy bacon, special treatment, and salsa verde, limping.
Drew's determination has inspired millions, proving that when you bet on yourself, even the hottest challenges can turn into something extraordinary.
Yeah.
Let me take a, I wouldn't mind taking a little hit of this deal with it.
Yeah, let's crack that open.
Get your little gander.
Get your little.
There we go.
Ooh.
Oh, yeah.
No, it's got a wang to it.
We got Drew on the line.
What's up, Drew Davis?
How are you?
Good.
How about you?
We're doing great, man.
I just accidentally drank a decent amount of your deal with it, sauce, man.
That shit will give you the runs.
It will?
Well, it's good to know, man.
We just started the show.
The sauce gives you the runs better than I run.
Yeah.
Yeah, you won't give anybody the runs, huh?
When did you get it into your head to start making hot sauce?
So, actually, I had a school project.
It was due in two days.
I'm like, man, what am I going to do?
And I look down, I look at myself.
I'm like, it'd be funny.
I like making fun of myself and I like hot sauce.
Let's present an idea called crippling hot sauce.
So I present it and I get the grade back.
It's 82%.
And as a person with cerebral palsy, my brain is the only thing that works 100% well on my body.
So I kind of got mad.
I was like, so I went up to the teacher and asked him why.
I'm like, I've never gotten a grade this way.
Why this grade?
He goes, oh, I thought it was a great idea.
Just didn't think you could do it.
Thought it was unrealistic.
So I went home that day, out of spite, learned how to make hot sauce and launched it.
And a couple of years later, we've sold hundreds of thousands of bottles, all while supporting people with disabilities along the way.
Let's go.
Fantastic, dude.
It says on your box here that 5% goes to cerebral palsy research for every sale.
Is that right?
Yep.
I'm trying to fix this stuff.
Oh, hell yeah, dude.
I was going to say I was going to recommend a chiropractor for you, but.
Yeah, I tried that.
Yeah, I bet, dude.
Drew, it's exciting, man.
Even just seeing you and feeling your energy, dude, it just feels like the American spirit, you know, like, oh, I'll find a way to get this done, right?
I love that, man.
And I love this quote on the box.
It's not the hot sauce that put me in the wheelchair.
It's the cerebral palsy.
Bit on the nose, but, you know.
I just always have liked making fun of myself.
So now that I get to monetize that, I couldn't ask for anything better.
What makes this a perfect gift for someone for the holidays?
Man, I think it just encompasses like the true, like a lot of our humor.
And I think it does well.
So it's like a gimmick product that tastes well, but also does like great for the disabled community, which is 1.3 billion strong in the world.
Can you believe that?
1.3 billion wheelchairs in the world.
Wow.
Dude, imagine if we all raced, dude.
It'd be like the bullshit.
Not running.
Not running.
Yeah.
Like the, yeah, almost like the running of the bulls.
The rolling of the bulls.
How good is the product?
We are flavor first.
None of them are too terribly hot besides the ghost pepper palsy.
I guess specifically for about cerebral palsy, do you feel like it's something that can be defeated one day?
Like, what do you think about that?
Yes, I do think so because what cerebral palsy is, is it's brain damage to the cerebral cortex in your brain.
So my brain doesn't get the right messages to my legs for them to work.
Oh, yeah.
It's like 3G wireless or whatever.
Yeah, my brain got one power, dude.
What are sales like?
We've done like two and a half million this year and, you know, still crippled, but at least I sell hot sauce.
Blessings to you, bro.
Happy holidays to you.
And thanks for being so creative.
Thank you so much for having me, guys.
You bet.
Peace, Drew.
Thanks, Drew.
Bye-bye, hot sauce.
Ooh, are we going to take me out to the ball game?
What do you got here, guys?
Well, what we have here is maybe the best baseball glove ever made.
These are Nakona baseball gloves.
Nothing may be more American than baseball.
And with this next product, once again, we are going all American.
Nakona baseball gloves from Nakona, Texas are a premium, customizable, American-made baseball glove worn by both young players and major leaguers alike.
These gloves have been in iconic baseball movies, Field of Dreams, a League of Their Own.
You see them at ballparks all over the country.
America's Pastime deserves American leather made on American soil.
And when you visit their website, you will be treated to a grand slam of customizable options from sizes and colors to personalized engraving and stitching.
Catch the holiday spirit this year with Nakona baseball gloves.
That's Nakona baseball gloves.
Yeah, that's a beautiful piece of equipment, huh?
Did you ever break in a glove?
We had a horrible.
Whoa, they put my name on it.
Look at that.
Does yours have Mike on it?
Yeah.
No.
I know Nolan Ryan was a famous Nakona user.
I remember that from growing up.
2026 is the 100-year anniversary.
For 100 years, they've been making these gloves right here in the USA.
These are the top baseball glove maker in America.
A great piece of art, which is what I would think of this glove as.
You know, it's not just a baseball glove.
It is a love letter to everything we're talking about.
You give that to the kid and you make sure they see the story and they understand what they're getting and they understand the company culture that made it.
And then, you know, then it's more than a glove, right?
Yeah, Bob Story, who is the founder of Nakona Gloves, he, there's a famous quote by him: I'd rather take a bucket of worms and go fishing than import a Nakona glove.
Yeah.
He wanted to keep it American-made.
Yeah.
One beautiful thing that happened in World War II, they got a government contract to send gloves over to our over to soldiers.
Yeah.
So they could have a bit of something that felt American.
That's pretty amazing.
And those are the kind of stories I think when you get somebody a gift like this that you want to share, right?
It's like, it's like so much of it.
Yeah, you're right.
It's not about the product.
It's about the story, right?
It's about like a sense of tradition and a sense of why we do this and why you would think this glove is perfect for somebody.
What's your favorite baseball movie?
My favorite of all time is League of The Rown.
Why?
Just devout lesbianism hidden behind war and sports.
I think that's right off their poster.
Some of the products that we're looking at have been around 100 years, right?
Some of them are almost institutional to the point where you can look back, see how they built it and be inspired by it.
And then some of them are first generation.
They're just getting started.
And, you know, I wouldn't put a value judgment, honestly, on what's better or what's more important.
It's the idea, whether it's Bob Story, who 100 years ago, you know, says, I'm going to do this the way I'm going to do it, or whether it's the kid with, you know, Drew with cerebral palsy or the lady making the cherries.
I remember, though I wasn't good at baseball, I remember that glove.
I can remember exactly what it looked like.
I'll never forget my first car, first baseball glove, pocket knife my granddad gave me.
Some of that stuff matters.
Yeah.
And now that I think about it, they were all American-made products.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's the thread.
Yeah.
That's the spirit.
Whose life would change if you if you present them with a glove like this and Bob Story's story?
Yeah.
Now you got a gift.
Maybe it's not your son or daughter.
Maybe it's a niece.
Maybe it's a nephew.
Somebody loves baseball.
Somebody's going to unwrap this and they're never going to forget it.
That's an American dream right there.
I want to thank Shopify for sponsoring this special American made holiday gift episode.
A lot of the brands we've been talking about today run on Shopify.
Those are real people making real products, trying to build something honest right here in the U.S.
I remember I saw somebody was selling glacier water melted, get you a little half a jug of that or get you a quart or get you a little cup.
They even become one of those little baby sippers.
Shopify has always supported entrepreneurs from some of the largest corporations in the world to your favorite shop right down the street.
And that's what I love about Shopify.
It's the engine behind small shops, behind mom and pop garage dreams.
Even in the craziness of the holiday season shopping, Shopify gives the little guy a fair shot.
So if you want to join millions of hardworking men and women that managed to create their American dream out of nothing, head to shopify.com slash Theo today.
You've got the ideas and you've got the grit.
Shopify has the know-how to help turn that dream of yours into a future legacy.
Can happen.
You can do it.
You know we all hate buying clothes and after a week they're falling apart.
You'll see something on the ground.
It's like what is that?
It's part of your clothes dang.
Your shirt broke down on the side of the road not with American Giant.
If you listen to this podcast, you've probably heard me talk about American Giant before.
They make high quality clothes and they make them right here in America, right here.
I bought a sweatshirt from them about a year and a half ago, and I love it.
It's one of my favorites.
I bought a zip-up hoodie from them and a really great black t-shirt as well.
They were started more than 10 years ago by this guy named Bayard Winthrop, who was fed up with everything feeling so cheap.
I love knowing I'm supporting an American-made brand.
Yep.
I mean, from the cotton grown on American farms all the way through the finished product made entirely in the USA.
I think an item from American Giant would make the perfect Christmas gift for the guy or girl in your life because it comes with a story.
Tell them the story.
And right now you can shop at American-Giant.com and get 20% off your first order with code Theo.
Yep.
You can shop at American-Giant.com and get 20% off your first order with code Theo.
And starting now throughout the holiday season, you can find links to all of these companies at theovawn.com slash AmericanOriginals.
One thing I wanted to share with you right here next is a company that I learned about about 10 years ago.
Oddly Sweet Dolls.
People collect all kinds of things from baseball cards to watches to rocks.
So this shouldn't be too crazy to hear.
I collect oddly sweet dolls.
That's a true story.
For the last 10 years, I've been buying these dolls for my own collection, and sometimes I'll send one to a family member or friend.
Oddly sweet dolls are created in the one woman art studio of Miss Lacey Michelle, who hand sculpts every creepy, cute doll straight from her home workshop.
What began in 2009 as an experiment in sculpting faces what became a world of imperfect, soulful characters, each brought to life with humor, heart, and a touch of mischief.
After surviving a brain tumor while 27 weeks pregnant, Lacey turned creation into her therapy, infusing every piece with gratitude and grit.
Entirely American-made oddly sweet dolls stands for originality, resilience, and the beauty of imperfection, proof that even the strangest ideas can be oddly sweet.
How long have you been buying these, honestly?
Probably about one decade.
How many do you own, personally?
I think I have 11.
But I've given some as gifts.
How many have you given as gifts?
15.
Is this a thing you talk about often on the pod?
A lot of people won't know about this.
I think a lot of people are going to run with this, really.
This field, maybe not like headline news, but you're an open book.
That's the charm of you, man.
Just the eyes.
Some of them seem like maybe they've been using or in recovery.
But I did love the fact a lot of them, like some of them have a meat cleaver or a different knife.
Just the fact that they're willing to work.
Millions of people have hundreds of millions of dolls.
Yeah, I think I would remember going over to certain friends' homes and some of their moms or stepmoms would have a doll room and be like, this is where the dolls are.
Oh, dude, I just remember my friend, I would sleep at his house.
Dude, his mom would, if you got up to go pee in the middle of the night, she'd make the bed while you were up.
She's very organized.
Was this the same you were telling me about in the back of the car on the road trip?
Yeah, my buddy that was masturbating behind a map.
His family was driving somewhere.
He's pretending he's reading a map.
Yeah.
And he was touching his body behind it.
What do you, I mean, what do you get a guy like that for Christmas?
I mean, a bigger map, maybe.
There's something about it to me that's very much like, even though something's messed up, there's still, please find something endearing about me.
And just the fact that Lacey Michelle was pregnant and is dealing with a brain tumor at the same time.
You know, that has to be like fear and hope at the same time.
So much going on.
See, that's interesting because, you know, if you have fear and hope in the same feeling, then you can also have creepy and cute on the same face.
For sure.
When you accidentally get your baby, your sonogram picture mixed up with your tomb, with your MRI scan, you know, and you're showing somebody the baby and they're like, that's the baby.
It's, it's, where is it?
It's by your brain.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
But just the whole ambiance of that is absolutely kind of wild.
But that's the stuff that people go through.
And that's the stuff where creativity comes out of.
I really believe that kind of thing.
Yeah.
And here we are.
I'm inspired.
I'm inspired by her story to have two things growing inside of you at the same time.
And one of them's really good and one of them is really bad.
Right.
The fact that she makes each one of these, it's pretty fascinating.
I mean, the attention and detail on them.
Yeah.
No, it's great.
It's great.
And I do know it's a limited item.
This item she'll probably only have maybe 150 to 200.
So if you do go to her site and she's sold out, then that's awesome, right?
And you can go back next year.
And these are out of Salt Lake City as well.
I want to say you've been there.
It's a beautiful area.
It's very nice.
If you haven't been there, it's beautiful.
It is gorgeous.
It's beautiful.
Do you know why some of the heads are severed?
Say you don't have time for a statue.
I don't have time for a statue.
There you go.
This is an ornament.
For a Christmas tree.
Yep.
You could hang it on a Maypole.
You could hang it on a friend that's not moving much.
Sure.
How have your friends reacted who have received one of these gifts from you?
I think they're excited about it.
Some people are afraid to display the truth, though.
Yeah.
And I think that's what these things are doing.
And it just shows you like, this is neat to me to somebody else.
It may not be, but there's probably a ton of other creators who are making really neat stuff and can like you can have a whole business.
The fact that Lacey Michelle does this and has an entire business built around it, the fact that she's going to be able to fulfill 150 to 200 orders for Christmas gifts this year, dude, that's to me, it's fascinating, man.
Is there someone in your life that has something going on just below the surface?
Something they may not be keen to talk about casually in polite company, but something that nevertheless needs to be tapped into.
Maybe, just maybe, a doll like this is exactly what they've been waiting to receive.
They just don't know it yet.
And they won't until Christmas morning when they unwrap it and the universe suddenly starts to make sense for the first time.
Amen.
There's been some neat stuff, man.
Thanks so much for this is from our friends at Scraggly Bush, a truly unforgettable American original where deep from Papillon, Nebraska, a husband and wife, have turned laughter and hard work into a true American dream.
Craig and Carly Summit founded Scraggly Bush.
After Craig's high school trapping hobby and a gag wedding gift, the fur squalet, also known as a squirrel wallet, sparked a wild idea with a COVID stimulus check and a lot of faith.
They began sewing fur goods by hand in their home workshop.
Today, their creations include racuzis, possum packs, even satin-lined squalets.
They're shipped nationwide.
They're made from ethically sourced American furs.
And they're named after Craig's late best friend.
Scraggly Bush is more than a business.
It's a tribute to friendship, laughter, and the power of the American spirit to turn even the wildest idea into something worth hoarding.
So this is a squirrel.
Or it was.
This is an actual squirrel.
And maybe it was hunted.
Maybe it was found.
I don't know the etymology, but I know it was a real squirrel.
You can get them pretty easy.
But now it has a zipper where its abdomen used to be and it's a satin-lined interior.
Oh, is that satin in there?
Yeah.
Hmm.
Oh, that is nice.
Wow.
Yeah, very nice.
Keep some pills in there.
Keep whatever you want in there.
Car keys, pair of glasses, the aforementioned pills, whatever, medication, whatever it is.
Medication, we could say.
Jelly beans, whatever you want in there.
Sure.
And squirrels are notorious for hoarding and hiding things anyway.
So they're still getting to live the life they want.
Right.
You could actually switch.
Without all the hassle of being alive.
You know?
Sure.
Sure.
I mean, what about nuts?
That's the ultimate irony.
Oh, if you pop that bitch open and had some cashews in it, dude.
Right.
I'd be the happiest guy in the world.
The squalid right there, and that's for males and females.
Sure.
And you've got a little like a carabiner right here, right?
So you can clip it, I guess, to your belt loop, maybe?
One beautiful thing about this company is that they received a COVID stimulus check and created something from it, right?
This company makes $250,000 a year.
All fur is sourced and harvested from American hunters.
There are no farmed furs.
This is straight out of God's refrigerator, the forest.
And there's also the raccuzzie right here.
If you get tired of drinking out of a squeeze, you got that racuzzi, baby.
And it's more of this a little thicker fur.
And this is from a raccoon, a raccoon body.
That's where this hide is from.
Nice insides.
It's dry, beautiful tail.
You want to let a kid play with the tail while you stand there and drink at regular level?
If you got a son and wants to bat that tail around while you're drinking here at human level.
If I see somebody drinking out of that.
You don't ignore it.
I mean, what baby girl ain't going to want that squalid?
Think of the story you're going to have.
There's condoms in that thing, too.
If you're in high school.
You've got Astroglide.
You've got birth control.
You could have mint gum.
Mint gum and aromatherapy candle.
You could outfit this squirrel.
Men, you want to improve your odds in a rough and tumble, unpredictable dating world?
Hollow out that squirrel and never take it off your belt.
Look, I got to work early tomorrow, but I'm in, you know?
That's Scraggly Bush.
That's their company right there.
We can go support them.
Thank them so much for their creativity.
Yeah, man.
Why settle for a bush when you can have a scraggly one?
Let's keep it moving, man.
One of the things that I'm inspired by is the way that people use things in their area, you know?
Yep.
And one of the best stories that I've heard about that, turning something kind of a negative into a positive, is with the Albizia Project.
Under the Hawaiian sun, where the trade winds rustle through wild forests, a once destructive tree has found new life.
The Albizia Project transforms Hawaii's most invasive wood into stunning handcrafted cutting boards that help restore the island's native forests.
Husband and wife founders Joey Valenti and Christine Johnson, alongside their team, hunt Albizia trees and turn them into heirlooms made entirely on oahu.
From their Wahawa workshop and cafe, they're building strong community.
One cup of coffee and one cutting board at a time.
They make a few legendary surfboards out there as well out of Albizia also.
This holiday season, give something with true aloha.
Proof that even the most invasive species can be transformed into something regenerative, enduring, and proudly American.
Look at that, man.
It's just amazing that they, ooh, pick that up.
Yeah.
Oh.
Lighter than you think.
Yeah.
But stronger than you know.
Gosh.
Yeah.
New wood smell?
Yeah, smells great, man.
Imagine you walk into somewhere and they got a couple onions cut up on that thing, baby boy.
Couple of carrots.
It's a hard yet light wood.
Hard and light.
Surprising, boy.
I can't think of a better combination for everything you would want in a cutting board.
Hawaii tourism plummeted during COVID, so they got a $250,000 U.S. Forest Service grant to launch the company.
Wow.
Yeah, I think the invasive species thing is fascinating.
You've got to be very careful with what you introduce into an environment.
Oh, it's like bringing someone horrible home for the holidays to meet your parents.
That's an invasive species writ large.
Something you're not going to have with this.
One of the beautiful things about this is then not only are you creating a gift, you're giving a gift to Mother Nature too, because you're getting bad things out of the forest.
But the other thing, too, it's like, it's super personal.
Like that specific piece of wood gets traced back to a specific tree.
It gets traced back to the specific person who cut it.
That's what these guys do.
They knew where it grew.
They knew who cut it.
And it's only possible through what they would call a super localized domestic supply chain.
Wow.
So it's like, yeah, if you need a cutting board, you can go to any retailer.
You can buy any cutting board.
And now there's a piece of wood in your kitchen and that's it.
You use it until you don't use it anymore and whatever.
But that's not the Albizia project, brother.
No.
That's not cleaning up Hawaii, keeping it natural.
Yeah.
Which is one of the most greatest gifts that we get in the world is nature.
It's a big one.
And it's a family-run business.
Who would this be a good gift for?
Obviously, a mom would love this, especially with the story.
Like, mom, you're one of the things.
Or mom, remember when you try to marry that guy?
He was an invasive species?
Glad we don't have him.
Look, whatever it is.
I mean, look, Tony or whatever his name was.
You could use it as a small charcuterie board as well if you want to put you a little summer saltage, a little bit of winter meat.
You can do that.
And if you use this one as a makeshift paddle.
I'm not saying you should or shouldn't, but I'm not saying you shouldn't.
I would definitely paddle some kids if they let you paddle someone else's kids.
I'd run across the street right now and.
No, don't.
Yeah, you're right.
You could not use one of these to surf on, but they do make surfboards.
They make lamps.
They make a plethora of different options.
With Albizia, you can check it out.
Imagine you want to cut something.
What you going to cut it on?
Your counter?
No.
No.
Your friend's back, a strong friend?
Possible, but no.
Get a cutting board.
From an invasive species.
Yeah.
That's been repurposed and reimagined into something truly useful.
That's what I'm talking about.
It's like going to a detox center for wood.
You go in somewhat misplaced and not necessarily welcomed in the world you find yourself, but you come out repurposed, reshaped, reinvigorated, and who knows, one day re-gifted.
A lot of guys out there, they don't know what's going on, right?
And they're lonesome or whatever.
I will tell you this, if you have those types of feelings sometimes, thing you can do is blaze up a tit in your room like this.
These are candle tits.
They're made in this country.
Let me pop off that A-cup for you, homie.
Come straight out of Chicago.
Candletit proves that light and laughter can come from the most unexpected of places.
Founded by an artist named Bailey, this one woman brand hand casts every candle from real bodies to celebrate shape, self-love, and good humor.
Each piece is made from locally sourced wax, poured and finished by hand.
Some come for the fun, others for farewell.
A keepsake made before surgery, helping them see their body with tenderness instead of fear.
What started as a bold art experiment is now a movement that supports breast cancer survivors and anyone learning to appreciate one of God's year-round holiday treats.
During this festive season, skip the vanilla jar candle and motorboat yourself over to candletit.com, handmade in Chicago, because nothing warms a room like compassion, confidence, and a perfect pair of wicks.
A thick tit will keep you warm, homie.
I know that.
That's why a tit's got two sides on it, one for each hand, brother.
Who am I to disagree?
Why aren't these lit?
You can blaze one up.
I didn't know you wanted them all lit, freak.
It's almost more like a time capsule in a way for people that are going to go through possible adjustments to their bodies.
You know, people that could be dealing with breast cancer or breast removal, something like that, to have a keepsake, to have a fun kind of almost a time capsule way.
You lock that tit in forever with these blazers, you know?
Sure.
And you spark one of these things up at a campfire.
It's going to be a great story.
Who don't like talking tit with their buddies or their family?
You know what?
My sister and I have never even talked about tits, but I spark one of these up.
Who knows what can happen?
I mean, this is an American doing something creative, doing something cool.
You guys can check it out.
We sparked up five of them right now.
Right there, you got an A cup.
I was breastfed on an A cup and it's harrowing to see it.
You ever watch a baby try to get milk out of an A cup?
I have.
Oh, it's harrowing.
I've seen it.
Like he's beating on a drum trying to get it.
I felt bad for the kid.
It's horrible.
17.
Yeah.
And the kid was me.
Oh.
Well, damn, that's, uh, I want to tell you about this.
All right.
So we had a show in Casper, Wyoming.
I get back to my room and somebody had got me a little box of Don L's candies.
People are so sweet.
And I didn't know if I wanted it or not.
I was like, what is this?
And I cracked it open, dude.
And this is, I kid you not, the best toffee I've ever had in my life.
And their place was just a few blocks from us.
Uh-huh.
And so I had to get loaded up on it.
I got me something else.
I ate my whole box in one night.
Couldn't even sleep.
I want to tell you a little bit about it.
These candies have been curated by the Steppe family since 1956 when Don and Elma Stepp opened their little shop on St. Patrick's Day.
And for nearly 70 years, their family has handcrafted toffees, chocolates, caramels, and other sweets using the same original recipes in copper kettles.
Three generations later, every batch still carries that small-town pride and patience.
So, this season, skip the bullshit French truffle or that Chinese-made lafietape and give the gift of truly American-made sweetness.
Donnell's Candies, where holiday tradition tastes better when it's American.
And every piece is gonna make you holler for joy and slap your cousin.
That's good.
So, if you hate your cousin, yeah, I can put two pieces of this in and go whoop his ass.
You know what I'm saying?
But it's good, man.
It just there was something perfect about it for me.
And I'm gonna try one more of their candies live right here.
I've never even tried it.
Donnell's Candies Almond Brittle.
Never had almond brittle.
Well, his mouth is full, I'll tell you.
Three generations strong.
What started with Don Elma and their son Mike now includes grandson Ryan.
They're still crafting candies by hand 70 years later.
And if that doesn't make your mouth water, my friend, I don't know what will.
Dear God, it's good.
This is beautiful.
I can't recommend it enough.
It's an American company.
You'll support them.
They got a great website.
They can fulfill a lot of orders.
They'll let you know when they can't.
But I don't think you can go wrong supporting such a company like Donnell's candies.
I couldn't even close my eyes.
I had so much toffee that one night.
It wouldn't close because of the pressure.
But it was good.
The pressure.
I know some of these products we were asking around to some of our friends to see if they recommended any in their area.
And my friend Kate Thornton wanted to recommend a domestic company in her area.
So I thought we'd see if she could help.
Can you hear us, Kate?
I can.
Oh, it looks nice out there.
What's going on out there?
This is my real backdrop.
Can you believe that?
Seriously?
That's not AI, Kate.
This is not AI.
That's Whitestone Mountain.
And this is Whitestone Mountain Orchards that is sending you some fruit.
And Hal and Claire, they're the ones running that orchard, and they do an excellent job like through and through.
Thank you so much, Kate, for recommending one of your neighbors.
Can you tell us how often do you guys harvest apples?
We start harvesting pears in mid-August and then start working our way through apples all the way up until now.
Usually it goes into November, but it's a pretty long season.
So we're all kind of cranky at the end of it.
But it's a beautiful day.
So what's to be mad about?
How many kinds of apples are there?
Well, there's at least 30 on the commercial market, but there's over 7,000 different varieties worldwide.
I told you there are more than you think.
There are a lot of apples.
Who's keeping them?
How do we get more of them?
Well, you got the Granny Smith.
You got the Golden Delicious.
Cosmic Crisp, that's my favorite.
That's three.
So there's 6,997 more.
It's a lot of apples, man.
What are these apples here?
And how do you like them?
Huh?
Right, Kate?
Yeah, I've heard that one before.
I bet you did.
Whitestone Mountain Orchard.
This card says, Thank you for your order and for supporting small family-owned farms.
Your apples include an American heirloom from the 1800s and a new variety.
Remember to ripen your pears by leaving them out at room temperature for several days.
How do you know her again?
I know Kate.
Well, we've met just online, but then she came to our comedy show and then we went and saw a concert together one time, I think.
I can't remember exactly.
Oh, we went for a walk somewhere, remember?
Yeah, we went for a walk in the park, was the yeah, but yeah, we know each other.
What does it even matter?
I was like, this lady's got some nice fruit.
Um, definitely, I go, yeah, I'd like to learn more about it.
That was it, dude.
It's good people, Mike.
What is your problem?
I don't have a problem with it.
I'm trying to celebrate the fact that you're still curious enough to go on the Instagram, look around, and find a fruit, a picture of fruit.
It's called stalking people, Mike, and lurking.
But thanks for highlighting that.
Yes.
But I picked a good person this time because Kate's one of the best.
And she just spends so much time in the community with farmers, learning about farming, working on her own farm, all types of stuff.
She's just constantly, if you watch her social media, it's just a good time.
I think it's a Christmas miracle, Kate.
I appreciate you being part of it.
Well, thank you.
This is my absolute passion.
My family's been doing this for a long time.
So it's a privilege to be able to highlight, even if it's not my family, but other families that do this.
So thank you.
I love this fruit.
This is great.
If you want to have a nice story to tell your family and get them some fruit that's American grown and it's not one of the big vendors, it's more of a mom-and-pop organization, is it, Kate?
Yes, it's absolutely like family run.
You can learn all about them on their website.
They do a great job of like explaining everything.
I love it.
That's Claire and Hal right there.
Let's zoom in a little bit so we can see the good people that are there and that work there.
Oh, that's awesome.
I like them apples.
That's my kind of area.
Yeah.
Kate, thank you so much for highlighting them and for just being a part of this holiday gift show.
Well, I adore you both.
So let me know if I can help any in any way.
Appreciate it.
Have a good day.
All right.
Bye, you guys.
See ya.
Bye, Kate.
That was Whitestone Mountain Orchard, established in 1993.
Mike, I do want to let you know, sometimes it's nice to have something in your mouth, you know it.
Well, sure.
And Olympia Provisions is our next company that we're going to feature.
There's an old saying where I'm from, and it's that American meat is the real good kind of meat.
Where are you from again?
It's Louisiana, right?
From Louisiana, yeah.
That's what they say down there.
That's what people were saying that to each other.
Some people even wrote it down.
And here we got some of the best, all the way from Portland, Oregon.
This is not just Made in America.
It's independently owned by its founder, Elias Cairo, who first discovered his passion for cured meats when on an apprenticeship in Switzerland.
Upon returning home, he perfected a curing process that has seen the company grow to a team of 150 that crafts tens of thousands of pounds of cured meats every week.
Their secret, no automation, no gimmicks, just skill, time, and care.
What do you got, Mikey?
Well, this appears to be a summer sausage.
Yes, bet you found that in my grandmother's drawer, huh?
Get that meat out, Whitey.
This is good, huh?
It's delicious.
Salami with red wine and fennel.
Really?
I'm gonna have to text my sponsor, but I'll have a little cut of it.
Why don't you chop into that bad boy for us right there?
Lucaniko, Greek-inspired sausage with garlic, oregano, and lemon zest.
Three fully cooked sausages right here.
God, that looks good, Michael.
And they don't just have these, they have dog treats as well.
If your dog gets jealous, because every time, you know, when you crack open your meat, your dog comes around.
He's a bum.
He haven't been doing shit all day, but he pulls up to get your shit.
Give him a dog treat right there from Olympia Provisions, pure pork.
These guys are slanging meat.
What a perfect stocking stuffer.
It's already been stuffed.
Olympia Provisions, guys.
That's cured meats.
You want something that's American-made.
It's been sourced from America for a long time.
You want to put together a charcuterie board.
You want to get somebody some summer sausage that's right here in America, cured and tastes.
That's the best hasten I've ever had, I think.
You're a belt guy or a suspenders guy?
I've never worn suspenders except for once for Halloween.
Good day.
Right.
Like something you can snap with enthusiasm.
It was like having a cup of coffee without having one.
That snap would get you going, dude, hitting you right in the nipples.
You have to walk back into work.
Calavera Toolworks.
Deep in the woods of Johns Island, South Carolina, Michael Williams ditched corporate life to do something truly uplifting.
Make belts by hand.
Welcome to Calavera Toolworks, a small batch leather shop with a cult-like following and zero interest in outsourcing overseas.
Zero interest.
Every single calavera belt is cut and stitched and finished from American-raised leather and solid U.S. hardware.
These aren't just belts, Theo.
They're heirlooms.
This holiday season, skip the tie and give this handsome gift that could literally hold up Santa's britches after power munching through a stocking full of cookies.
Handmade on Johns Island, tough as a $2 Christmas steak on New Year's Eve and built to outlast the Christmas dinner politics.
God, that's a belt right there, huh?
If somebody spanked me with that, I would get my act together.
All my dad had to do was walk in the room and go.
Never had to use it.
Oh, yeah.
Straightens you right up.
I want to go right now to a testimonial.
From Jackson.
Yeah, let's hear from him.
What does he have to say about these calavera belts?
Hi, folks.
I recommend calavera belts and tool belts.
They're really well made.
This one holds up to all my farm uses and jobs.
So go check out Calavera Belts.
You heard it.
Here's a sentence I've never said before, but this is a belt you can pass down to your loved ones.
Amen.
Well, it'll grow with you.
It'll shrink with you, but it'll never let you down.
And it'll always keep your pants up.
Amen.
Yeah, I've never had any goose, man.
I'm trying to think of something nice that I've had around the holidays.
Maybe.
A turkey?
A ham?
Oh, yeah.
A good Christmas ham?
Oh, yeah, boy.
Yeah, I've liked a good ham.
I like the way it looks.
Well, there's no reason to put a ham in one of these.
Do you want to jump into one of these right now?
Yeah, I'd love to see.
What do you have here?
This is a Dutch oven.
Ooh.
Strap in.
Okay, yeah, dude.
Let me out of the covers, brother.
Tell me more.
Smithy Ironware.
Down in Charleston, South Carolina, there's a workshop where the holidays smell like cast iron and cornbread.
And that's where Isaac Morton started Smithy Ironware, restoring old skillets before deciding to make his own.
Each piece crafted by hand, polished to a mirror finish, and built to last for generations.
Today, every single Smithy skillet and carbon steel pen is made from 100% recycled American iron.
Poured and polished in an old naval base, turned foundry.
They are as beautiful as they are tough kitchen heirlooms meant to be passed down, not tossed out.
So if you're looking for a gift that says forever, forget the foreign-made gadgets and give the skillet that could cook an all-American Christmas breakfast for your grandkids one day.
I love that having Grand Peppy's skillet.
Ooh, that's a heavy deal there, man.
That has some real weight to it.
I mean, that's a good, you know, seven, eight pounds.
That's beautiful.
It's solid as can be.
It'll simply never wear out.
Anything in there will taste good.
I mean, like, what?
Like a lamb stew.
A beef stew.
Put some beef carrots in, put it on a low heat.
It's not a classic Christmas meal, but what a true, I mean, the smell, man.
When you walked into your house growing up and you smelled food, what is the smell you most remember?
I'll say maybe mom would make a little bit of a holiday jambalaya in there.
Oh, that's nice.
See, that's festive and at the same time, demographically authentic to where you come from.
God, if I eat, I could have probably one egg out of that and probably make me something good.
You get a big, you get an ostrich egg.
You ever see an ostrich egg?
Nah.
I'm no pervert, brother.
But I'll eat a nice egg out of that and go get out in the world, find me a job, find me a wife.
Made from 100% recycled American iron.
Look at that.
Look at them working on it right there.
Building to handle it.
Doing all the work so you don't have to.
All you got to do is cook you up something.
Make your daddy something.
Your daddy won't talk to you.
Make him something.
Grandma looking for a new hobby?
Hey, grandma.
Or do you have a creepy uncle who needs a woodsy cabin activity, huh?
Who is it?
Or maybe just a fun tradition for you and the kiddos.
Heart puzzles are gorgeous, American-made gifts right out of central Indiana.
Puzzles will keep you sharp.
Yeah.
I do love the puzzles.
I can't get enough of them.
Oh, I love them, dude.
I sit there.
I sit there with my stepdaddy.
He likes to make puzzles.
He made a bunch and put them on the walls at home.
And you framed them?
Yeah, he framed them.
Like a jigsaw puzzle?
And then you frame it and you put it up.
Yeah.
Why not?
But he loves doing it.
It's fun to sit there together.
You know, he's like, hey, can you help me find the pieces?
I can't find them.
He's lying.
He's just trying to spend time with me.
But it's nice.
It's beautiful.
Shout out, Rhett.
I enjoy doing that with you.
If you want to get somebody a puzzle, why just pick one up off the shelf from some company you don't even know?
Get one that's made by one of your fellow Americans.
These are great little ornaments and gifts, Mike, right here.
Prodigal pottery.
There's a ministry out of central Alabama called King's Home who is doing the Lord's good work by serving women and children fleeing domestic violence, homelessness, and trafficking.
That's heavy, but it's happening.
Through custom-made mugs, bowls, and Christmas ornaments with their self-made business, Prodigal Pottery, these amazing women are turning ceramics into salvation.
God bless us all, but especially these women at King's Home.
Oh, come all ye faithful, Theo.
Wow.
That's a great way to support everybody.
Well, they make things like this beautiful sheep right here.
Look at this sheep, Mike.
That's a good-looking lamb.
Yeah, I meant lamb.
Well, I mean, I'm just thinking, you know, the lamb of God.
Oh, yeah.
Is a lamb a sheep?
Yeah.
Yeah.
They make Christmas ornaments, mugs, candles, soap dishes, and bowls.
One thing that I think is pretty special is last night, Jenna, who is the current director, drove three hours up here to bring us ornaments from them.
And we have a video right now that she sent.
Prodigal pottery is very personal for me as it gave me my life back.
But this isn't just about me.
It's about the hundreds of women who have walked through the door, hopeless, beaten, and not sure if they were going to live to see another day.
And I get the privilege to watch women find hope and the light come back on in their eyes and watch them regain their lives back.
I get to watch women get their children back to buy their first cars, to buy their first houses, things that we think we were never going to achieve.
And only through the dignified work and the safety of prodigal pottery were these women able to just heal.
Well, thank you, Jenna.
Thanks so much for bringing it.
I'm glad that we could talk about them.
And yeah, this is great.
You can go in here, buy one item, and tell the story when you give it away to somebody.
Yeah, thanks, Mike, so much for helping out and just for inspiring.
I think this whole energy, just like in reminding us about America, that it's a thing.
We interviewed Ken Burns recently, and he does a lot of the documentaries.
He talks about the American Revolution.
And he's like, it's not that America got started and it's just going to be that way forever.
It's like you have to keep America America.
It's this malleable thing that's constantly evolving that can come or go, you know, but the only thing that keeps it going is us.
If we really want to celebrate the people who are making stuff here, whether it's an ornament or an axe, we got to support them.
Yeah, stuff like this is important to me.
You know, I think some people think that, you know, America this or America that, but in the end, America is just us.
It's us.
And it's how we like operate and how we choose to operate.
And if we can choose to buy something from our neighbor, then we win.
Dude, I learned so many stories of so many different groups today.
It was great.
I mean, the guys chopping down trees that are bad and turning them into wood that we can use for products, you know, knowing that Nakona Gloves sent their gloves over to people in World War II so that those guys could have a respite from the nightmare to throw a baseball back and forth for them.
And do something that feels like home.
Yeah.
When they're on the other side of the world, there's a family that's challenging.
Like, you know, sure, you could buy fruit from some of these companies that have been doing it for hundreds of years and stuff, but you could also get it from a company that's been doing it for 15 or 20 years that has five people working at it that can ship them out.
You know, it's like there's just different options out there.
And sometimes some of those options don't get as much advertising or don't get the word out there.
So, yeah.
And if you see something that you guys like, just let us know in the comments.
And if we couldn't feature one of your products and we'd spoken to you, we're really sorry about that.
Some of it just became time.
Like we thought this would take a few hours and we've been here for probably 12 hours, which is it's okay.
You know, it's just, but it is a long day.
And so we tried our best.
And I know that you tried your best too.
Everybody we introduced you to, though, has a has a spirit that we admire.
That's Christmas.
Yeah.
Oh, ho, ho.
Happy holidays, Mike.
Happy holidays, Theo.
Now I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves.
I must be cornerstone.
Oh, but when I reach that ground, I'll share this peace of mind I found.
