www.pietersmatinworks.com

MOREWOOD -- It has been almost two decades since Morewood area resident Greg Pietersma learned the art of tinsmithing at Upper Canada Village. Since then, The Pietersma Tinworks Ltd. has carried on the traditions of quality and craftsmanship in the numerous products it sells.

The business's number one seller is Victorian Christmas tree tinsel -- reusable strands of tin twisted to reflect the light and give any Christmas tree a touch of glitter.

Pietersma said it was a fluke how he got into tinsmithing, noting he had originally planned to learn cabinet-making at Upper Canada Village.

"But I like to make things fast -- I'm not very patient," he admitted. "I love the shine of the tin, and I think that's what attracts most people to it."

He noted that as old-fashioned as tinsmithing is, there's still a place for it in today's society, especially when it comes to his best seller.

"There's a kind of a universal quality to it," he said of the tinsel. "It doesn't matter how you decorate your tree, tinsel always looks good."

He noted that tinsel sells well no matter what time of year it is.

"It's always number one -- I never would have guessed it," he said. He used to make pieces of tinsel as a demonstration and originally started to sell the stands loosely. A customer who purchased some said that he needed something to put it in, so Pietersma fashioned a can on site at a craft show, and had several other requests that day.

The company started out in 1991 simply as "The Tin Shop." The business grew quickly, and Pietersma had to give up his position at Upper Canada Village to work on Tinworks full time. In 1995 the business was incorporated.

When he spoke with the Press, Pietersma -- Dundas County trustee and board chair with the Upper Canada District School Board -- was preparing for the One of a Kind craft show in Toronto, which he has been showing at for the last 12 years.

"There are over 800 exhibitors," he said of the Nov. 22 to Dec. 2 event. "It's a big-traffic show." While Pietersma Tinworks has shown locally at the Christmas Craft Show last year at Winchelsea Farms as well as the Ottawa Christmas Craft Sale, he said he prefers to spend time preparing for the bigger shows.

"This year for the first time we showed at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) [in Toronto]," Pietersma said, pointing out that the company was given the award for "best booth" at that show. Pietersma Tinworks is still expanding.

"We're in the midst of changing our online presence," Pietersma said, explaining that they now have a store on eBay and are working through online marketing firms to better serve wholesale customers. International orders come from as far away as Australia.

"We're finding other ways," Pietersma said about promoting the company. "Sometimes small businesses get lost in the competition with big businesses. It a challenge to make yourself known."

Buying tin, especially the amount he needs, is also sometimes a challenge, Pietersma said. The tin he uses -- flat sheets of steel that are covered with tin -- is a higher quality than what's used in canning so it's sometimes hard to find. He currently has a good relationship with a company in Toronto, and also gets some shipped from Illinois.

A few years ago, Pietersma began offering coloured tinsel -- all of the painting is done at D's Collision Centre in Winchester for the coloured product.

"They do a terrific job," Pietersma said.

The corks for the top of tinsel cans are shipped all the way from Portugal through a port at Boston.

"We've learned a lot on the way," he said. "We may be the biggest company on Connaught Road, but we're still very small."

He also noted that Pietersma Tinworks prides itself on quality, pointing out that the price of the tinsel has only gone up $1 per can since it was first sold.

"That's because we're better at making it," he noted.

Newer products include ornaments made from several strands of the tinsel - trees and stars -- as well as snowflake pierced-tin ornaments that have real crystals for extra sparkle.

A simple jar candle holder can turn any one-quart mason jar into a glowing lantern. Customers purchase them not only to use as centrepieces for entertaining, but also to line a walkway, or use with citronella tea lights to ward off mosquitoes.

Tin reflectors made for small twinkle lights will also fit on some brands of LED lights.

The tinsmith also makes cookie cutters, including a rooster, a horse, and a goat.

"It's a very small part of our business," he said. "There are always people who have bought something in the past and are looking for something new and unique."

Pietersma's pierced lanterns are a popular item, but they are expensive because of the time it takes to construct the door and other complex features. A pierced cylindrical candle shade is a less expensive alternative that gives the same affect.

"They're a really big seller," Pietersma said. The candle shade comes in a variety of designs including quilt patterns and animals, such as a moose.

The patterns are punched by a machine created by Pietersma, who also programs the software to create the designs in the tin. Pietersma has constructed five different machines to fabricate the company's products.

"That's too much fun," he said about constructing the machinery -- which he referred to as "grown-up's Mechano." "I could spend all my time building machines.

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Locally, Pietersma products are available at the Village Bin in Winchester, and subsequently Louise and Company in Kemptville, which are both owned by Louise Arsenault. Products are also available at Lee Valley stores across Canada, and at 200 other gift shops in North America.

"It's been a great thing to do," he said of the business. "I never would have anticipated I'd have the time to do the other things I like to do. I like the flexibility of working for myself."

As for the future, Pietersma says he plans to "keep on going" and is always trying to come up with new ideas to keep customers interested.

"New products always seem to take a while," he noted, explaining that it's usually about two years before an idea becomes a marketable product. "We have to test them, and then figure out a way we can make them fast. And packaging is always an issue."

There are four employees working to help complete orders leading up to the Christmas season, and the Pietersmas' sons Sam, 12, and William, 9, both help out, as well. Sam even has a product -- "Sam's stars" -- named after him. They help out in the store and with various other tasks. Any money they make goes into the bank for a college fun, Pietersma pointed out.

He noted that his sons' help ended up being detrimental when he was trying to make a deal with Banana Republic, which wanted to have Pietersma products available at the stores' registers as "counter add-ons." When he was speaking with the company's representative he mentioned that the entire family helps out, and then suddenly the deal "went south."

"I found out later that that company has a tight policy on child labour," Pietersma explained, noting that in rural farming communities, no one would bat an eyelash at the kids helping out.

Pietersma Tinworks' 13854 Connaught Rd. store will be open Sat., Dec. 22. Otherwise, the store is open by chance or appointment.

The 800-square-foot workshop and store was built nine years ago, but the Pietersmas still use a neighbour's barn as a warehouse for storage.

"Our living room used to be the shipping area," said Pietersma's wife, Amanda, noting that there were always boxes piled high before the separate workshop was built. "We've come along way since then."

This Christmas will be the first for the newest additions to the Pietersma clan -- twins James and David. Maybe they, too, will help out with the successful family business in years to come.

Reprinted with permission of the Winchester Press. Story written by Meghan Duncan. Photos by Meghan Duncan. © 2007 by the Winchester Press