by Jeremy Hammond
I was honored in 2013 to be asked by the city counsel to design a flag for the City of Bath Maine, (my home town). As a lifelong enthusiast and student of flags and heraldry, it was a dream come true and major source of pride. I never had any intention of making money from the endeavor or putting any more effort into it. However, it was important to me that the flag actually flew in real life instead of existing simply in the minutes of counsel meetings only to be long forgotten.
Bath Flag Co. began in 2015 with the specific purpose of bringing the flag of Bath, Maine to life. A Kickstarter campaign was launched simply to seed the city with flags, but requests for more came in as the campaign ended. Now dozens if not hundreds of Bath flags are flown, not only around the small city, but by Bath expats around the country.
In 2018 I was inspired to design a new flag. I learned about the history of Maine’s First Flag and like many Mainer’s I wanted to see it brought back. Without a legislative standard in the design, I took the liberty of creating something that was more easily recognizable and more easily produced than the semi-realistic painted tree that appeared on the original flag.
I continue to design custom flags and heraldry and this small project of mine has evolved. So to must the brand of the company. To better represent these efforts, Bath Flag Co. is now Dirigo Flag Co. The same two flags will continue to be sold, but it is my hope to brighten the world with even more flags. Keep an eye on this space for future products and services.