Maker: Aaron & Nicole of Shotgun Paul

This husband and wife team have combined their creative talents and abilities and founded a company based on providing quality products for the hardworking man.  They have used their own strengths to compliment each others’ abilities and have an amazing company as a result.  Meet Aaron and Nicole and check out their awesome outdoorsy stuff!

~Angie~

Please introduce yourself.

Shotgun Paul is the husband and wife team of Aaron and Nicole Coleman. Both of us are Southern California natives and while Aaron has lived all over the world, Nicole has never lived more than 40 miles from where she was born! Right now we call Costa Mesa home but hope to someday spread our wings and buy a lodge or farm somewhere in the middle.

What do you make or do? 

Shotgun Paul was born because of the idea to make men’s aprons that were rugged, durable, practical and aesthetically pleasing. Many suitable prototypes were made, but ultimately none fit what we felt a high standard of a better, tougher utility apron should be. We tweaked our patterns and scoured locally to find heavy-duty duck canvas, military grade grommets, and high quality leather; all sourced from homegrown American companies. Vintage industrial grade sewing machines and leather working tools were soon added to our workshop. Nicole handled the sewing while Aaron manned the workbench and together they transformed these materials into the hundreds of aprons being worn today by woodworkers, chefs, artists, and everything else in between. We have since added other products including dopp kits, leather pipe pouches, totes, key fobs and log carriers – all made with the same attention to detail and high standards as our aprons.

Where can we find your creations? 

You can find us at www.shotgunpaul.com or on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/ShotgunPaul

Is there an interesting story behind the name of your business? How did the name come about?

Shotgun Paul’s namesake comes from Nicole’s father – the most comprehensive outdoorsman we know. He hunts, fishes, lives in a small town, works outdoors with his hands and knows anything about everything. It was important to us that we create rugged provisions that our Paul himself would want to use that could also stand up to the way he would use them.

How long have you been creating and is it your full-time job? 

Nicole: I have been creating since she was a child. I was lucky to grow up with a family who fed my artistic spirit and I have always chosen to have hobbies that centered around creating. I was taught the basics of sewing at a young age but taught myself to sew more comprehensively about five years ago and I have been sewing for myself and now Shotgun Paul ever since.

Aaron: Music is my first love and I have played guitar since I was a boy and I enjoy building guitar pedals for my company Heavy Lid Effects. While I am new to the world of textiles and leather, I enjoy the creative process behind Shotgun Paul and I like coming up with new ideas and ways to improve upon our principal products.

Nicole and Aaron: We work together to create and build all of the products Shotgun Paul offers. This can be challenging since we both have day jobs  but we find delight in knowing that we brainstorm, prototype and ultimately create every piece together. As would happen with most married couples, we have had some challenges along the way (Nicole’s an emotional night owl, Aaron’s a practical morning person) but we have found the ways that work best for us as a couple and as business partners and creating products that other people enjoy is the ultimate reward.

What’s on the horizon for you and what you do?

We are always looking at new ways to expand and build on the Shotgun Paul brand. We are in the process of developing a few new products for this holiday season and want to further expand by extending our reach and partnering with stores across the country.

What would be your perfect day off?

Our perfect day off would definitely include hanging out with our pups, we have a Boston Terrier and a Chihuahua, somewhere in nature. The past couple of years we have been obsessed with Joshua Tree and get out there as often as we can. There is just something about that place that makes us feel at peace. Honestly, any time we can be out exploring in nature we are happy. We also love board games! You can almost always find up playing cribbage wherever we go.