We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Cutler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, what is the most important factor behind your success?
For us, it’s quality. We have been handcrafting belt buckles for going on 50 years. We stand behind our work for life. How many products can say that? We are genuinely passionate about what we do, and that gives customers the support they need to invest in the buckles we create for their crews. We are solely word of mouth.

What should our readers know about your business?
As we near our 50th Anniversary, we have been reflecting on a lot of these questions. We started back with my boss’s Father, who started the company as a hobby after creatively taking old, busted locks from the forest (he was a Forester) and turning them into keepsakes. They quickly gained popularity and soon became the official belt buckle for the Forest Service. When Pat retired in 2002, his son Mike took over the company and moved us from Encampment, Wyoming, to Loveland, Colorado. Being in the sculpture capital gave us some new tools and skills to really take the company into a new and bigger arena. After obtaining a one-of-a-kind casting machine from NASA, we were able to really crank on casting belt buckles in-house. Keeping the quality of the castings at an all-time high. A vacuum induction casting machine is perfect for belt buckles. We get a clean product with far less waste than the more traditional gravity pours. It has also opened us up to being able to cast sterling silver and even solid gold. We take pride in our castings and offer a lifetime guarantee on what we do. We are super excited to continue to expand the shop side of our business and really take off as a belt buckle manufacturer. While we can still do apparel, lasered goods, and the other idetentifiables (pins, patches, challenge coins, etc), we are starting to see where we really shine is making belt buckles.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Loveland has so much art, it’s great to check out the Sculpture in the Park annual event. There are giant bronze statues all around town, and as someone who understands casting on the tiny side of things, getting to see how they are made is so cool. Some of the big foundries in town allow tours; I highly recommend doing those. We are spoiled by being downtown, with so many things to walk to. My favorite thing is to hit Henry’s Pup for dinner, go to The Foundry for a movie, and then The Flipside for some pinball.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It would have to be the Forest Service and the widland firefighters. We wouldn’t be here without them.

Website: https://www.westernheritage.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westernheritagecompany/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WesternHeritageCo

Image Credits
Photos by WHC

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.