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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-09-28, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1988. PAGE 5. Grey Owl Enterprises Doing what's best for Brussels BY TOBY RAINEY Where can you find a beautiful figurine that looks toall but the most discerning collector exactly like a genuine original Eskimo soapstone carving, but costs only a small fraction as much? Why, at Grey Owl Enterprises in Brussels, of course. The two-year-old light manufac­ turing company owned and oper­ ated by partners Hank Ten Pas of Brussels and Doug Bertrand of Elmira, has recently branched out from the astounding success of its specialty wood products to include an entirely new line, called the “Arctic Collection.'’ Established only a month ago, the new division employs two people full-time, and has the potential to grow to almost anything the company can handle, says Mr. Ten Pas. “These little guys are going to be one of the hottest items to hit gift and specialty shops in a long time,” Mr. Ten Passaid, “And ata retail price of only a few dollars each, you just can’t lose!” His only regret is that under an agreement with his marketing company, L.E. Specialties in Ham­ ilton, Grey Owl can’t supply the figurines directly to local shops, although they can order them through the marketing agency as do stores right across Canada. Mr. Ten Pas says he’s had several enquiries from local stores that would like to handle the Arctic Collection, but adds that he doesn't think any of them have started stocking the figures yet. “The Christmas season and the tourist season next summer is when I think we’ll really begin to see them take off,” Mr. Ten Pas predicts. Arctic Collection figurines come inseveral sizes, and in about30 different figures representing Eskimo soapstone carvings, from the four-inch beaver which the Brussels, Morris and Grey Indus­ trial Committee purchased through a special arrangement to present to each member of the British Opportunity Tour which toured Huron County, including Brussels and Blyth, recently, to the much larger reclining walrus. There are also a number of figures depicting Eskimo stories and legends, just as does each original carving made in Canada’s Arctic. The figures are of a lustrous black synthetic material, washed with grey, to simulate the real thing, and can scarcely be identi­ fied as not authentic, unless they are picked up: the replicas are a great deal lighter in weight than the heavy soapstone used in the original art. Grey Owl workers Agnes Ten Pas and Karen Hastings cast each figure by hand, taking painstaking care that every detail is correct; any that are not perfect are immediate­ ly destroyed. The company has purchased 28 replicas, hand-carv­ ed by a Greek artist now living in Canada, at about $300 each; these are used as the original forms over which the moulds for the Arctic Collection figurines are made. Each form is coated with a liquid latex compound painted over it, which when dry serves as the form for the final figure. Each rubber mould is then used Anges and Hank Ten Pas collect finished Arctic Collection figurines from the stock shelves to fill an order from a gift shop in Toronto. to make a heavy plaster-of-paris mould in two halves, which are then fastened together with rubber bands and used for the pouring of the figures. When the compound is dry, each figure is hand-dipped into black paint, wiped off, and coated with a grey-white solution to give it the soapstone appear­ ance. Each finished figure is identified by a number and by the special “Arctic Collection” seal, and is addedtotheshelf stock to await shipment. Mr. Ten Pas says that it is still tooearly to estimate what the company’s final volume will be in figurine sales, but he says that the company will be able to handle anything that may come along, although it will likely have to hire extra staff once the product becomes more widely known. As far as he knows, Mr. Ten Pas says that only one other manufac­ turer in Canada is currently producing Arctic Collection fi­ gures, and they have a “multi-mil­ lion dollar business.” The figur­ ines are now being sold coast to coastand down intothe USA, he adds. Grey Owl Enterprises was the first light manufacturing business in Brussels to get underway almost as soon as the BMG Industrial Committee began ac­ tively soliciting the establishment of such ventures in the area in 1986. Already well known and well Hank and Agnes Ten Pas work together to fasten the bands on a plaster mould prior to pouring a figurine while Karen Hastings puts the finishing touches on one she has just unmoulded. This little beaver, symbol of both Canada and Brussels, was one of those given to the Opportunity Tour members in the region recently. respected for its specialty wooden gift boxes and other light wood items, Grey Owl Enterprises em­ ploys four full-time workers, in addition to the two in the Arctic Collections division, as well as a numberofpart-timeworkersas the seasons demand. All Grey Owl employees arc from the Brussels area, giving a decided boost to employment, especially for women, in the area - and there is no telling where it all may lead in the hands of such enthusiastic entrepreneurs as the Ten Pas - Bertrand partnership. The International Scene Gospel according to Marx can lead travellers astray BY RAYMOND CANON I have taken considerable inter­ est in Hungary ever since the day when I worked out of the Gan^Mian consulate in Vienna. It was there that I had the job of processing large numbers of Hun­ garian refugees fleeing from the Russians in 1956 after the latter had overrun their country in an effort to put down the uprising against the Communist regime. This job included escorting hun­ dreds of them at one time across Europe to a port of departure from which they would set out for a new home in Canada. While my Hungarian was next to nil, enough of them spoke one of the languages that I did for me to hold long discussions with them about the past, present and future of the country. The man whom the Russians put in charge in 1956 was Janos Kadar and he took the country from being one of the most Stalinist of regimes toperhapsthe least, in which there was a sort of “market socialism” which made the Hungarians the envy of the other Eastern Euro­ pean nations. Unfortunately for the Hungarians, this noble experi- Tnent has gone somewhat sour and, after 32 years in power, Janos Kadar is no more, having been replaced by a more pragmatic Karoly Grosz. At least he was not shot as was his predecessor, Imry Nagy in 1956. Shooting people in theCommunistworldseemstobe a thing of the past. After such a promising start, what has gone wrong with the Hungarian economy? The main reason seems to be, and Mr. Gorbachev is discovering this in Russiaby theway. thata little bit of capitalism in a communist country' is not necessarily a good thing. The Hungarian communist party has not been able to keep from meddling in the economy and has, amongotherthings, insisted on pouring money into industries such as coal and steel which seem to be a centre-piece of Marxist development projects but which seldom, if ever, pay their own way. Ifyou were in the position of being a manager of such an enterprise, why make any real effort to be efficient since you know that the state will cover any losses. In addition, Hungary has suffer­ ed the same fate as Poland as far as the population is concerned. The government has lost the confi­ dence of the majority of the people and this, as much as anything, accounts for the number of inde­ pendent organizations such as the Network of Free Initiatives which calls, among other things, for a multi-party democracy. I his has been given an extra impetus because of the glasnost policies of Mikhael Gorbachev in Russia and it was this, as much as anything, that resulted in the departure of Janos Kadar and the arrival of Karoly Grosz. Mr. Grosz is hearing advice from Budapest economists who are saying, in effect, that the only way to help the Hungarian economy recover from its sickness is to introduce full liberalization and to see that the initial pain that is caused is accepted by enough of the people to get it over the worst. Hungary, they are saying, has to open its doors to foreign competi­ tion and to allow unprofitable companies to go bankrupt. Some idea of the long way which has to be trod is the fact, admitted by the politicians in Budapest, that 19 out of every' 20 Hungarian manufac­ tured products are at least five years behind average western standards. Small wonder that the country is not exactly setting records when it comes to earning hard currency. However valid the arguments may be, getting Mr. Grosz and his followers to accept and implement them is something else. One thing in his favour is that demand for change is coming from the rank and file while in Russia it is coming from above; Mr. Gorbachev would undoubtedly be the first to admit that any real change to achieve a more efficient economy is not goingtobeeasy. With the pressure in Hungary coming from this direction, it could well be that the country will once again set the pace for the other Eastern European countries who are discovering to their sorrow that the Gospel according to St. Marx has led them up some false paths. Keepyoureyeon Hungary as veil as the Soviet Union; that is where the action is most likely to be.