https://www.themodernmercshop.com/

The Modern Merc, Helena, MT (2026)

09/05/2026

Saturday Update from The Modern Merc

With Dave out in Eastern Montana doing the day-job thing over Labor Day weekend, we wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU.

We’ve highlighted a few of our local business customers lately, but there’s another group that deserves just as big of a shoutout — all of you.

The folks who have trusted us with cribbage boards, can koozies, custom signs, hats, gifts, badges, patches and a whole bunch of other things we probably never imagined making when this little adventure started.

That list has gotten a whole lot longer than we ever expected.

You’re the ones showing your projects to friends, sharing our posts, passing along our name and coming back with another idea for us to figure out. That word of mouth has probably done more to grow The Modern Merc than anything else we could have done ourselves.

We may not always get the chance to recognize every customer individually, but please know how much we appreciate every order and every person who trusts us to make something for them.

And while Dave is off doing his day-job thing, Jen is holding down the Merc — keeping an eye on orders, going through supplies as they show up and probably adding a few more things to Dave’s list for when he gets home.

Because apparently the best way to welcome Dave home is with a stack of orders and a laser that’s ready to go.

We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thank you all for continuing to support this little business of ours. You’re the reason we get to keep doing it.

09/04/2026

Thankful Friday — K & S Meats

Today’s shoutout goes to K & S Meats, another local small business that played a pretty big part in where The Modern Merc is today.

They were actually the first ones to ask us if we could make hats.

“Just a few,” they said.

Dave’s response was pretty much, “Yeah…we can probably do that.”

So we did what we seem to do best around here—we started reading, researching, found a leather supplier, figured out how to make patches, bought a hat press and started experimenting. Before long, K & S had some new hats.

Then came the leather Koozies. Then cutting boards. And just like that, another whole side of what we do at The Merc started growing.

That’s really how a lot of this little business has happened. Someone comes to us with an idea, we say “we can probably do that,” and then we figure out how to make it happen.

We’re thankful K & S Meats took a chance on us early on and trusted us with their business. One local small business supporting another—that’s what this is all about.

Thank you, K & S Meats, for being part of The Modern Merc story!

09/03/2026

Thursday Customer Spotlight — Bar Lazy KC Builders

For this week’s Thursday Customer Spotlight, we want to recognize Bar Lazy KC Builders and an order that ended up having a much bigger impact on The Modern Merc than we ever expected.

They originally came to us looking for custom hats as customer appreciation gifts for their customers. Along with the hats, we added custom leather can koozies, and before we knew it, we were working on what felt like our first really “big” order.

Looking back now, that order was a turning point for us.

It pushed us to do more with leather, experiment with different products, and really see what we could create. That little push into custom leather work has since created a huge surge in our business and completely expanded what we’re able to offer — from hat patches and koozies to leather stickers, bags, Velcro patches and plenty more.

Sometimes one customer and one order opens a door you didn’t even know was there.

A huge thank you to Bar Lazy KC Builders for trusting our little business with those customer gifts and helping ignite what has become such a big part of The Modern Merc.

We appreciate the support, the trust, and especially the opportunity to keep learning and growing.

09/03/2026

Busy Wednesday night at the Merc!

We had a rush order for some badges hit the desk—and by rush, we mean they needed to be ready today. So we dropped some wood in the laser and got to work. 144 badges later, we had them knocked out and ready to go.

Meanwhile, because apparently that wasn’t enough to keep us busy, we fired up the hat press and worked through a couple hat orders too.

It made for a busy, late night in the shop, but that’s the life of this little side business. Sometimes you shuffle the schedule, put your head down, and get it done.

Another good night at the Modern Merc, and as always, we appreciate everyone who continues to trust us with their orders—rush jobs and all!

09/02/2026

Tuesday Customer Recognition

One of the coolest parts about this little business we are building is the people we get to work with along the way, and today we want to recognize our friends at XX Bar Farm & Ranch.

What started out as them reaching out to us about making a couple signs has turned into one of those relationships we really appreciate.

They originally wanted some signs for their Farm to Market storefront and Farmers Market truck. We kicked a few ideas back and forth, made a couple things, and like a lot of our projects seem to go, one thing led to another.

Next thing we knew, we were giving their whole storefront a little upgrade with custom signs for each of their freezers and their egg refrigerator.

Since then we’ve done some canvas bags with leather patches heat pressed on them, a few other odds and ends, and now we’re working with them on some hats.

This is exactly the kind of thing we love about The Modern Merc. Someone comes to us with an idea, we kick it around, figure out how to make it happen, and pretty soon we’re talking about the next project.

Even better when it’s another local small business right down the road. Local supporting local is what it’s all about.

A huge thank you to everyone at XX Bar Farm & Ranch for continuing to trust us with your ideas and supporting our little business. We truly appreciate you guys and always enjoy seeing what you’re going to come up with for us next!

09/01/2026

This week we wanted to talk a little about us and how this crazy little adventure called The Modern Merc got started.

It really began with a simple conversation. Karyn needed someone to make Square Dance badges because the person who had been making them was retiring. Dave had always wanted to get into engraving, so naturally he thought, “This could be a fun little side business to keep me busy in all my free time.” 😂

We bought an engraver, made some badges, and then started playing. There was plenty of trial and error, but before long we were making gifts, funny magnets, cribbage boards, leather projects, hat patches—and eventually buying a hat press because apparently one machine wasn’t enough.

Somewhere along the way, this little hobby turned into something much bigger than we ever expected. Today we’re doing all kinds of custom work, trying new ideas, learning every day, and continuing to grow one project at a time.

And the biggest reason for that is you. Every person who follows our page, shares our name, brings us a crazy idea, places an order, or trusts us to create something special has helped build The Modern Merc into what it is today.

Dave is rarely afraid to try something new, and with an amazing family behind him and all of you supporting us, we’re excited to see where this little adventure goes next.

From a few Square Dance badges to all of this… thank you for being part of the ride.

08/30/2026

Sunday Funday at the Merc

Some days you don’t get a lot of production out the door, and today was one of those days… or at least that’s what we thought.

We did get a piece engraved for someone who is making a pretty special gift, so sorry—no pictures of that one. We made a hat delivery, cut some jigs for a large coaster order we have coming up (as soon as the supplies get here), built some blanks for cribbage boards, and most importantly, gave the laser some much-needed love with a good deep cleaning. Gotta keep that thing happy above all else!

We also did some shop housekeeping and organizing as our inventory of hats, leather, and other products continues to grow. It’s amazing how quickly a little shop can run out of places to put things.

Tomorrow it’s back to the real-world job, but that doesn’t mean the Merc stops. There will be a couple late nights this week working through a koozie order, making leather patches for a couple fairly large hat orders, and finishing another order as soon as our leather delivery arrives.

When you put it all down on paper, I guess we actually did get quite a bit done today!

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday. Most importantly, thank you to everyone who follows along, supports this little business, passes our name around, and trusts us with your projects. We truly appreciate the opportunity to create quality, custom work right here locally.

Now, back to the real world tomorrow!

08/30/2026

Saturday was all about wood in the Modern Merc shop!

We’ve been doing a ton of leather work lately, so it felt pretty good to get some wood back in the engraver today. Of course, a custom project usually means building a couple new tools along the way. Dave put together a stand for using the torch and built a jig for a two-sided project we’ve been working on.

We aren’t going to reveal exactly what we’re making just yet. This one is a pretty special project that hits close to home for Dave, and when the ask came in, it was definitely one we wanted to figure out.

This has been a true custom job from the beginning. We started with a few pictures and an idea, followed by some trial and error, a couple test pieces, some head scratching, and eventually got everything dialed in. Once the order is finished and in the customer’s hands, we’ll share the finished product. Until then, we’ll let you guess what those pieces in the laser are going to become.

Tomorrow will probably bring us back to some leather with koozies on the list as we continue working through orders, checking inventory, and getting more supplies headed our way for projects coming in.

We’ll also sneak out of the shop for a bit. Dave and Jen have a hat order to deliver, and getting a little time away from the machines isn’t a bad thing either.

Wood today, leather tomorrow, and something always being built at the Modern Merc. That’s a pretty good weekend in our book.

08/28/2026

Another night of getting caught up in the shop!

Tonight we knocked out some badges, cut more hat patches, kept moving on a rush order, and finished up a Velcro patch order that had been waiting on supplies while Dave was gone. We even managed to get a couple invoices out for completed projects. Slowly but surely, that order list is getting shorter!

Of course, Dave couldn’t just stick to the list. He had to spend a little time experimenting with some random hat patches we’re planning to offer for sale. First up is the elk that everyone seems to love, along with a new elk and American flag design. These will eventually find their way onto a couple camo hats we have in stock.

See one you like? Let us know. We’d be happy to put one on a hat in the color of your choice.

Another productive night at The Modern Merc—catching up, trying new things, and keeping that laser busy!

08/27/2026

Well, Dave is back—and the shop lights are back on!

Dave took the day off from the real job today, partly so if the phone rang again he’d be available to head back out. After getting some personal things taken care of this morning, it was time to get back into The Modern Merc and start catching up.

Today was a little bit of everything: inventorying supplies, catching up on computer work, working through designs, and finally getting the laser running again.

We engraved a sunflower on an urn, and those projects always mean a little something extra to us. We worked on patches for a hat order along with some stickers to go with them, finished putting hangers on a plaque order, and spent some time designing a rush project that came our way. We also made sure we have the supplies on hand to keep working through the other orders waiting in line.

Tomorrow it’s back to the real job for Dave, but we’ve got a plan to keep things moving. We’ll continue working through our existing orders while taking on new ones as we get current projects completed. It might not always happen overnight around here, but we’ll keep chipping away and making sure the work leaving our little shop is something we’re proud to put our name on.

Thank you to our customers, followers, friends and everyone else who continues to support The Modern Merc and what we’re building. We truly appreciate every order, every share, every recommendation and everyone who keeps following along with this crazy little adventure.

The Modern Merc

09/05/2026

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