​  It all started the summer of 2013 in an 8X10 garage in a tiny townhouse in the middle of Santa Clara, CA. That year in particular was one of the most beautiful and saddest parts of our lives. Funny, how life works that way. We got married, we were expecting our first baby girl, we had just moved back to the Bay Area and we were fighting to keep my Dad from dying with Cancer. We took a huge leap out of our comfort zone moving from Cody’s home town in southern California where we both had secured jobs, to return to my home town to help fight my fathers battle with him. Cody leaving behind 15 years of tattooing history, clients, friends and family and me leaving a great paying job at the local newspaper.
    We have both loved the art of jewelry. What it takes to make it, the drive, the courage, the creativity and the perseverance. Let’s face it, we are all up against some pretty unique artist and large corporations so thick skin and ambition are necessary. We started off designing our first line of wood rings and Cody took on bone carving.   Which were pretty awesome if we say so ourselves. We both designed the pieces and since we were expecting Cody would be the one bringing these pieces to life. We went to the local hardware store got some hand tools, some exotic pieces of wood, some deer antler and bison bones that we had purchased from an old Native friend named Tony Bear horse. We had some dusty turquois in a drawer that was gifted to us a few years prior that needed to be put to good use. We were kind of desperate with a new baby on the way and Cody’s two little boys to care for. Money was tight but dreams were big and time was ticking.  Like I said, it was rough times. Little did we know we were on our way to building our future together. Not too long after we finished up some pretty amazing pieces something miraculous happened. WE SOLD THEM! Hahahahaha. This really got our motivational juices flowing. With the money we had made from our pieces we graduated to precious metals and were intrigued by the silversmiths world. We noticed at the time there were a limited amount of choices for jewelry stamps. So Cody being Cody turned to me and said; “I’m going to make stamps for jewelry makers”, and me being me did what any other half would do and totally supported the idea.  Back to the hardware store we went for more tools to buy, for more dreams to be build and goals to be accomplished.
             December 1, 2014, the day time stood still for us. It was the day of our first baby’s baby shower and the last time I saw my father take his last breath. Sitting right beside him, holding his hand and wishing him a farewell and a hope that I will one day see him again. He had lost his battle with cancer and we had lost a father in law, father, and grandfather. Three months later on February 17, 2014 at 1:13pm we welcomed a gorgeous 8.16oz baby girl whom we named Harper Titan Rutland and the most beautiful little girl we had ever laid eyes on. Less than 6 months later we began the next chapter of our lives. Santa Barbara, California we moved into our first little warehouse we subletted from a friend, hired on some amazing crew members who became family and turned our dream goals into a reality while making a tiny whisper in the jewelry world and having you all paved the way for us. Thank you to those who have been with us since the beginning. You are the fire in our hearts, the motivation in our souls and the bridge between where we are and where we want to be.
​You are Buffalo Rutland Company.
 
 

As a maker of fine arts, I sometimes, have to stop and take a step back to look at a project I'm working on. Not to check measurements or assure things are aligned and well, but to take in the magic I have created with my two hands. This isn't an attempt to boast or express my awareness of my talent, You see, as artists (of any medium) we are sensitive creatures, equipped with egos no more delicate than a piece of 200 year old fine china, and as such, I feel we often are our own worste critiques. Be honest, what is the percentage of time you spend elated about the progress of a piece you are working on, compared to the percentage of time you spend exhausting your "internal Websters dictionary of curse words", towards every aspect of your work, how often have you felt like giving up? How often have you decided "I hate it!"? How often have you sat at your desk while writing or sketching only to find you are shooting more three pointers of crumbled up " could have been" paper basket balls into your workspace trash can, than you have hairs on your head!? But this is the point I want to touch on, we spend all this time and effort loosing focus. That's all it is really. We lose focus of our original goal of creation. We break it down, micromanage, critique and the ever so common in today's society, " only 5 likes!?" On our social media pages. We lose our natural, organic creation. Think of what could have become of some of those unfinished paintings I started years ago, that have only collected dust and self storage receipts, or the short stories that had a short life, or all of the jewelry we half way melted at the tail end of finishing, only to end up in our scrap pile. So I take a step back and breathe and realize, ugly, uneven, not what I hoped for, or completely missed the mark, I still made this with nothing more but these two hands. The universal message, radiating life energy through me, through these two hands, to create something beautiful from nothing, deserves so much more than the scrap pile. Love your self, take a step back for a moment when your having "one of those days" and think to yourself, " I made that, with these two hands."

- Cody Rutland

Buffalo Rutland Co.