Sgt. Nigh's Designs - History

OFTEN IMITATED – NEVER DUPLICATED

#1 SUPPLIER OF QUAILITY CUSTOM ITEMS TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION

LET RETIRED SERGEANT PAUL “DOC” NIGH’S 14 YEARS AS A SHERIFF, 24 YEARS IN THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, AND 30 PLUS YEARS DESIGNING ALL OF THE ITEMS YOU HAVE BEEN BUYING, GUIDE YOU TO THE BEST PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT THE LOWEST PRICES. GUARANTEED!

THIS IS HIS STORY

In 1987 Correctional Officer Paul Nigh started his career at the newly opened Kings County State Prison that was almost immediately renamed Avenal State Prison (ASP).

In 1989 the prison conducted a talent search for an employee to design the official belt buckle for the institution. Missing the deadline to enter the contest, Paul decided one day to pass his ASP design around the institution to see if there would be any interest in it. To Paul's surprise there were 40 officers that day that wanted to purchase his ASP buckle. 12 weeks later when the order came in, Paul took them to work and located 12 officer's that had placed an order with him. By the end of his shift that day he had over 90 more orders placed, and CDC BUCKLES was born. Paul's design was a simple one of an oval buckle with a rope like trim with a circle in the middle that housed a three-quarter sized replica of the officer's badge and draped on both the right and left sides were the California Republic Flag and the United States Flag, which is still being used to this day.

But what set Paul's buckles apart from all other company's was that each buckle was personalized with that officer's individual badge number for no extra charge. A treatment to excellence that we still follow today and will forever. It was also possible to have personal engraving on the buckles back as well. In 1989 ASP became the first institution to commission Paul to create a Lapel Pin for their Honor Guard.

Within no time CDC BUCKLES had produced over 350 belt buckles for ASP to staff including Sergeants, Lieutenants, up in rank to the Warden. With a risk of upsetting supervisors that had already purchased a CDC BUCKLE, Paul decided to create a buckle that supported a rank ribbon. The idea was highly embraced and even the employees that had bought the officer's version quickly rushed to be first in line for the Supervisory Buckle as it supported a rank ribbon with their rank. In record time CDC BUCKLES sold 300 more buckles.

Around the same time that ASP was being casted, so was a buckle for the Kern County Sheriff's Department. This buckle also took off in sales. Over the next few years Paul would run the business by word of mouth and conferences and as new institutions would open, so would a new buckle for them by CDC BUCKLES. By this time the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) had come online with their own buckles.

In 1993 CDC BUCKLES was given its first commissioned job to create and sell a design completely designed by Paul for the 1993 10th Anniversary of the California Department of Correction's Annual Summer Olympic Games. By then the CDC BUCKLE was either Warden Approved or Official Wear by most all of the CDC Institutions.

In 1997 CDC BUCKLES started an advertising campaign by placing full page color ads in the California Correctional Peace Officer's Association's (CCPOA) magazine entitled the PEACEKEEPER. Later that same month an ad was printed for the first time in the California Highway Patrolman, a magazine put out by the California Highway Patrol.

In 1998 CDC BUCKLES introduced CDC/CHP Custom Watches into the inventory.

By 2000 CDC BUCKLES continued to rise to the top of its field and quickly became known as California's Number 1 Belt Buckle Company and released the YEAR 2000 PEACE OFFICER’S MILLENNIUM BUCKLE which is consider a highly collectable item today. Later that year the California Department of Correction's Transportation buckle was released.

From 2001 to 2011 CDC Buckles maintained the companies "Life-Time Warranty." In 2005 we re-casted the California Department of Correction's Transportation Belt Buckle in a smaller size.

In 2011 Paul changed the companies name from CDC Buckles to Custom Pins and Buckles (CPB), as the sole Founder he took on the title of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and collaborated with PC Creative Design on a new company logo and an updated website.

In 2013 Paul started creating custom Challenge Coins and the market for them exploded.

Over the next few years, the business continued to grow as Paul was on the phone over 60 hours a week returning customer calls and communicated with manufacturers at late hours. Paul was not looking for customers, he was looking for friendships and as the face of the company he feels that customer service is #1.

In 2014 Tia Belt a CCI from Pelican Bay State Prison took the position of Vice President of Northern California Sales Division. Tia would fly out and manage our Conventions.

In 2014, we added Cooperate and Private America to our line of Clients and Customers. Now creating hundreds of customized items from Challenge Coins to Lapel Pins, Bottle Openers to Key Chains, Custom Jewelry to Accessories, and more. During that time Paul, along with the help of correctional staff members, created items that had never been created before, Paul’s motto was “Whatever you can Imagine, We can Manufacture.”

The years 2020 and 2021 brought many challenges to many across the world. CPB was able to continue by adding specialty items for its customers. Later in 2021, Paul stepped aside from CPB for personal reasons and took a break to nurture his personal health.

His entrepreneurial spirit was re-ignited when his friends from the departments reached out to him and started requesting new products, Sgt. Nigh’s Designs was born. Within 3 months Sgt. Nigh’s Designs had regain the position of #1 Supplier to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Paul also started traveling to different institutions as a speaker to staff during their block training sessions representing California Crime Victims Coalition. Paul continues to go to the institutions on a weekly basis and says that it is fun meeting and talking with so many new and old staff members.

In March of 2022 Paul made the formal announcement that Sgt. Nigh’s Designs was up and running.

This story will continue to grow as Sgt. Nigh’s Designs rules the CDC & CDCR market and is also working with Sheriff’s, Police, Fire, and Military across the nation and around the world.

FOUNDED BY A COP – OPERATED BY COPS – FOR COPS – WE SPEAK COP