B6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday May 31, 2000 Homes & Gardens An O akville B eaver Feature To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 S p r in g I nto S AWNINGS u m m e r !! Enjoy the outdoors under the comfort of a fabric retractable awning. W e offer a diverse line of styles and fabrics to suit your home d6cor. C a ll o r viait o u r a ho w ro o m fo r a free a atim atal * Welder's transition to furniture maker a lesson in life "* By Nancy Alexander SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Ask about our spring specials. A FAMILY BUSINESS SINCE 1966 Aluminum Products Greg McGibbon with some of his work Photo by Peter C. McCusker JANS 1 4187 Upper Middle Rd. Burlington (W S ) With one of his coffee tables gracing a recent cover of Canadian House and Home mag azine, Greg McGibbon appears to have carved himself a comfort able niche in the field of high tech home furnishings. McGibbon, owner of Dupont Iron Works on Speers Road in Oakville, specializes in cleanlined, lacquered steel furniture pieces that look at home in a vari ety of decors, from contemporary to retro to eclectic. His distinctive designs-- some sleek and modem, some with a whimsical touch-- have also been featured in Chatelaine and Azure magazines. Now num bering in the dozens, his cata logue of tables, mirrors, wall shelves and accessories has evolved over the past seven years into a steady and thriving busi ness. McGibbon admits he was for tunate in the early going to have some big-name Toronto stores such as Up Country and Urban Mode show an interest in his work. "I'd never sold anything before in my life," he laughs, "so it was pretty neat to be able to get stores like that to take my stuff." McGibbon's earliest designs included a plant stand and a small table he called his "X Table". Although he had never tried his hand at designing furniture, he was an experienced industrial welder. When he found himself laid off--and with another child on the way--he decided the time was right to start exploring differ ent ways of putting his welding background to use. His first thought was to pro duce something strictly utilitarian like fence railings, but at his brother-in-law's suggestion, he switched to furniture. "I've come to believe that you should really take advantage of every opportunity to learn, no matter what it is, starting in high school," says McGibbon. "I thought the last thing I'd be doing is running this kind of business, so you never know about life." In the seven years since his business began on Dupont St. in Toronto, McGibbon has had to learn not just about what works and sells in furniture design, but how to manage the daily nuts and bolts of running a business, from finances to staffing headaches to production, shipping and market ing. Some of his best lessons were learned completely by accident, he admits. In the early days, for instance, McGibbon says he used to literal ly haul a sample piece from store to store looking for buyers. Then one day he approached the owner 335"3733 C Gazarria 69C a box · variety of colours · excellent for bedding, & containers · heat & drought L tolerant Tom ato, Eggplant & r Plants a box or a flat (12 boxes) ^Wilsons Rose & Flower Water Soluble Fertilizer 15-30-15(500gm ) Petunias & Pansies of a small shop in Streetsville who told him she wasn't inter ested in displaying his tables in her shop, but would take them to the big Canadian Gift and Tableware show in Toronto and use them to display her floral arrangements. The plan work brilliantly. McGibbon's tables got lots of exposure and attracted plenty of interest, especially from the retail and commercial sectors which liked the look of the clean lines for display purposes. "So that's how I learned to have stores come to you instead of the other way around," says McGibbon who now also displays his designs at the One of a Kind show and the Toronto Home Furnishings Market (slat ed for June 3-5 at the International Centre). McGibbon says he's learned that he can't do everything himself, and that has had an influence on the design process as well. He admits that some of his earlier, more elabo rate, pieces have been dis continued simply because he was the only one with the necessary skill to cre ate them. Now, he sticks to designs that can be readily handled by his staff of six. Although Dupont Iron Works now generates enough business to stay busy year round, McGibbon says expenses and inventory still eat up a lot of the revenue. Last year, for instance, he chalked up about $280,000 in sales, taking about $20,000. for him self. In essence, he says, someone else in the family has to be bringing home a paycheque in order to make a go of the business in its early years. The upside is that he has now bought his own building and he is ultimately doing what he set out to do--make well-designed, last ing pieces of furniture that aren't going to be filling up landfill sites in five years time. "My goal was to make nice stuff," he adds. "I didn't want to make cheap, throw-away pieces. There's already enough of that around," (lots of varieties k & colours) 880a box or 7 5 9 a flat 25L Bag V Box Plants 1/2P R IC E*2.99 (Reg. *5.99) · 5for *659or Selected Perennials Everyday Specials e v e ry d a ylo wp ric e Homegrown with pride! 1 h noli · Shrub* · lValet plants · Jtopnol Plant', *1.39 ea. (31/2 inch pot) · fit floral Dept I(imu viy (if It/inilii\ plants · Sc Soils H i CM®! 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