Quillin Custom Name Plates

# Why Our Nameplates Don't Look Like They Came From a Trophy Shop

A while back, a customer named Barbara came to us with a problem we hear more often than you'd think.

Over the years she'd bought "brass" nameplates from all sorts of places for her projects. They kept letting her down. They looked cheap. Plastic-y. Some were sold as brass and still managed to feel like something else. So when she needed a top-class plate for a museum project — the kind of setting where so-so won't do — she'd had enough of settling. She figured Quillin was the place to go for top quality.

Here's what she told us afterward:

> I have bought "brass" nameplates from various places over the years, for projects rather than halters. Well, they all look rather cheap and, even if said to be brass, plastic-y. I needed a top-class nameplate for a museum project and got tired of so-so ones. Knew Quillin was the place to go for top quality. And it was! Perfect work. Thanks, Quillin — will be back soon!
>
> — Barbara

We don't share that to pat ourselves on the back. We share it because it points at something worth explaining: why so many brass plates look cheap, and why ours don't.

## The shortcuts most shops take

Most places that offer engraving start with lacquered brass plates. The lacquer is there to fake a shine, and it does — for a while. Then it scratches. It tarnishes underneath. And once it goes, there's no fixing it.

Others reach for chemical darkening acids to get contrast in the letters fast. It's quick, it's cheap, and it never quite looks right.

Both methods exist for the same reason: they're easy. We've just never been tempted by easy.

## How we actually make them

We start with solid brass strip and cut every plate by hand. We round the corners and punch the holes ourselves. Then each plate goes onto one of our computerized engraving machines, where the letters are cut deep — deep enough to hold the engraver's enamel.

That enamel is applied by hand and baked in, so the lettering becomes part of the plate rather than something sitting on top of it. Finally, every plate is hand polished. No lacquer faking the shine. No acid bath cutting the time. Just brass, depth, and a finish you can actually feel.

It takes longer. That's the point.

## More than forty years of not cutting corners

It's the way we've done it since we opened our doors in Paris, Kentucky, in 1982 — and it draws on a tradition of Bluegrass craftsmanship that goes back a century or more. The same care that goes into a museum nameplate goes into the plates on our halters, belts, and key tags. You'll notice it in the depth of the polish, the uniformity of the engraving, and the hand setting on every piece.

The difference shows. We think it should. Quality in everything we make is our nod to the craftsmen who came before us — and to customers like Barbara who know the real thing when they see it.

## Need a plate that will outlast the project?

Whether it's a single nameplate for something that matters, a brass plate set into a halter, or engraved key tags and belts, we'd be glad to make it for you the right way. Quillin Leather - 50 years

**Stop by, call, or order online:**

- **Quillin Leather & Tack** — 716 Main Street, Paris, Kentucky
- **Phone:** 859-987-0215
- **Online:** quillin.com

Made by hand in the Bluegrass, the way it's been done for generations.

*— Ralph & Donna Quillin*