Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Fessenden.
Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Ever Since I was Young, I was “that” kid who always wanted to take things apart just to see how they worked and if I could put it back together and if it would still work! haha. Sometimes I’d be successful at it and other times, well…. there would be left over parts. lol. That curiosity has been a driving factor my whole life, which has led me to explore many different hobbies and interests growing up. After my freshman year of high school , I went to an Independent study high school, which basically is home study. I went to school approx. 6-8 hrs. a week to meet with my teacher, and get the next weeks assignments. Needless to say, it freed up alot of time during the day. Before the age of 18 i had learned to weld, rebuild motors, restored cars and motorcycles from the ground up, got certified in autobody repair and refinishing, and Started to learn the family business of Custom Cabinetry and finish carpentry.
After I Graduated high school I continued working in the trades with my Dad as a carpenter, furthering my skillset in high end woodworking and Furniture grade Cabinetry. I did have a couple stints were I worked Retail jobs but always ended up back into Construction. Fast Forward to a year or so before COVID my Dad and I started working on commercial projects in the Gaslamp district in downtown San Diego. We worked on a historical renovation which became the Huntress steak house and the Lumi Sushi bar. COVID then hit and I became an essential employee working for a Company that does Government contracts. So during COVID I went up to the San Francisco bay area and headed the remodel of a 50 room Navy Lodge Motel. After the dust settle on COVID, We were back working in San Diego on the Remodel of the “Shout” house Piano Bar, We remade the entire bar. One of the longest bars we’ve built, this thing was huge! haha.
Now to the part that matters the most, haha. Over the last 2 years give or take, Some major family setbacks have occurred which are taking a fair amount of effort to overcome, One of the hardest was my Dad being Diagnosed with a pretty aggressive cancer. Going threw all this recently has opened my eyes on what my next chapter in life is going to be like. Working in the trades wears your body out pretty quickly, I’ll be 44 years old this July and I needed to make sure I’ve got something to fall back on for the later years. So, in March of 2024 I saw an advertisement for a laser engraver/cutter. My curiosity got the best of me, So I ordered it and hence, the beginning of this new chapter of life! shortly afterwards Wolf Dog LaserWerx was born, Now We are operating with 3 lasers, A CNC Router, Assortment of heat presses , Silk screening and Sublimation equipment. I’ve Never really talked much on how I came up with my business name. I Have a pet dog named MIA, she is half Dutch Shepard and I’ll let you take a guess on the other half!! She is my everything!! She is a senior dog now and has been my road dog for the almost 14 years. She truly is a 1 of a kind, She has taught me so much about life and is the best Business partner one could want, She listens to all my ideas and never disagrees with me! Haha. I know that she isn’t going to be around forever , so to pay homage to her and to keep her memory alive – Wolf Dog LaserWerx just seemed to be the perfect name to immortalize the memory of her and our journey together.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I know I’m not alone when i say this, but the road is rather rough in the pursuit of becoming successful. When I got into the laser engraving world, I thought it was kind of a plug and play hobby. Man, was I wrong with that!! It involved hours and hours of learning and more failed attempts then successful ones. One of my biggest constant struggles is Social media, I’m a huge introvert and find it extremely hard to put myself out there for the world to see. So, That’s an on going battle that I feel can limit ones success is this digital world regardless of the product or service one offers. I think another challenge was finding my niche, there are loads of people putting out laser engraved goods from key chains to signs and so on. It took alot of trial and error to find out what products I could put out that would separate myself from the others and make my offerings unique. I think with enough heart and tenacity and most importantly patience, all obstacles can be overcome.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Wolf Dog LaserWerx came to fruition in early 2024, I started with making laser cut and engraved wooden earrings and keychains out of birch plywood. Some friends that owned a really neat Coffee Trailer called “Cactus Cats Coffee” in Valley Center allowed me to display some of my keychains and earrings to sell, and surprisingly they were rather popular! This very small taste of success then led to me selling at local Pop-up artisan and vendor events around Valley center, Pauma Valley, and Escondido.
I began to realize how versatile the laser engraver actually was and I started to offer laser engraved photo’s for customers on different types of materials such as slate, tile, wood etc.
One of my hobbies is photography and by using the laser engraver, I could now engrave my own photo’s on painted canvas. it produces a unique look and errs more on an artistic representation of the photograph by primarily using 3 colors which creates a more monotone/sepia image.
We then got into the Leatherette patch trucker hat game making custom patches for trucker hats. That was HUGELY popular. selling those hats at the local events led to getting contacted by a local consignment store called Colab Crafts, where in May of 2024 I signed up and started selling hats and other products at the store. These events have led up to realizing how popular Customized and unique products were!
Wolf Dog LaserWerx has evolved into 2 different areas of business.
#1 – Using the laser engraver as a tool for artistic expression and to fulfill custom orders for customers while attending local pop-up events and other organizations.
#2 – focusing on offering business branding solutions for small businesses.
We are a Laser engraving business that offers Custom and Personalized engraving services on customer supplied items as well as One off orders created in house. The sky is the limit for what we can create. We Recently added a handheld CNC router which allows us the ability to make Custom signage of ANY size. Photography engraving on Wood, Canvas, Slate. A lot of unique seasonal Items are made in limited Qty’s and are only available at local Vendor events as well.
We Offer a full line of business branding products from Drink Tumblers, Coasters, business journals, Etc. Essentially any business promo product in available.
We offer up to 4- color silk screening services, Sublimation Services, Custom hats, and Dtf prints. We will soon be offering small scale UV printing services as well.
Our Most Popular product/service we offer is most Definity the Custom Patch Trucker hats! I have a Mobile Trucker hat bar that is available for private events, birthday parties, corporate events, etc. Its by far the most fun thing We offer. we come set up at at event and bring a massive assortment of blank hats . Its super interactive and guest walk away with a custom hat they designed with a huge selection of patches they choose from, that are heat pressed on site and then the hats are decorated with misc. accessories such as hat chains or hat pins. We can also bring a portable laser onsite and engrave custom leatherette patches for customers as well.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I think the Best advice I could offer is to not let the moments of defeat extinguish the fire of success! Work hard, stay humble, stay focused and anything is possible. I wish I knew more about the business side of things as well as how to self promote and advertise. I feel those are critical attributes to know when first starting out.
Pricing:
- Custom hats average $26-$31
- Hat Bar for events start at $250+
- Canvas Photo engraving $20-$150+
- Custom wood Signage $20 – $1000+
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wolf_dog_laserwerx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WolfDogLaserWerx
