Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/80745
Mugging it IN FOCUS { SMA L L B U S I N E S S } By Sharon Verbeten Sunset Hill Stoneware moves up in down economy in spite of the recession impacting so many other businesses) the co-owner of Sunset Hill Stoneware has decided to go big or go home. This summer, the 14-year-old E ntrepreneur and inventor Duane Dunsirn oſten remembers his father's motto: "Don't fight it. In that bold spirit (and " pottery firm made a huge expansion: moving and quadrupling the size of its production facility, doubling its kiln capacity and nearly doubling its workforce. "I felt at the end of the day, it was a no-brainer," says Dunsirn, who owns the Neenah company with his son, Tom Dunsirn. Handcrafted success Sunset Hill has made a name for itself craſting high-quality mugs, bowls and other pottery wares one by one – all by hand. It's ironic, then, that one of its owners is a self-professed machine- making wizard. "Machines are really my niche, says Duane, who has always been an entrepreneur and also spent time on the Inc. 500 list, working first with his father and then with his brother in both printing and machine design. Among Duane' " ubiquitous peel-off clear-dry adhesive coupons used by many vendors. Aſter successfully launching and later selling several of his businesses to national names like Menasha Corp. and Avery, Duane used his business www. insightonbusiness.com A Sunset Hill Stoneware potter crafts a 16-ounce stein for the company. The 14-year- old pottery firm recently moved from its facility in Dale to a larger, remodeled and renovated building in Neenah and doubled its workforce. acumen, along with some much- needed capital, to help Tom and Tom's former business partner launch Sunset Hill Stoneware in the central Wisconsin burg of Dale in 1998. "I'm not a potter, but there are some really interesting things I can do," says s notable inventions are the now- Duane, who designs pottery wheels and other equipment used by the production facility. Now 63, he says he toyed with retiring but decided, "the more I was around (the business), the more I became enamored of it. by years of intuitive business insights – that led Duane to the realization, "We've got to take this thing national. And it was largely his vision – fueled " " customer was a tiny local pub in Dale, the company has now expanded its client base worldwide, including to shops in the Statue of Liberty and Yellowstone National Park and online at www.dead.net (Rhino Entertainment' While Sunset Hill Stoneware's first home of the Grateful Dead). "I like to offer higher end, high s quality products that are made in the U.S.A. and tend to look for companies that feel more like a small family owned and operated business," says Heather Lewis, director of online merchandising for Rhino Entertainment in Burbank, Calif. "Since I am sourcing [continued] » September 2012 • INSIGHT | 47 COURTESY OF SUNSE T HILL STONEWARE