A graphic design and screen printing business are the newest elements of Twisted Mounty’s business. They recently took up shop space on the west side of Stirling to make room for the influx of orders.
Meens and Kerr have also been generous in supporting charity events in the area. “We’re playing it cool, not swamping people,” Kerr says. “We have a budget for what we’ll give away and basically we’ll look after anybody who asks, as long as it fits in with the amount we’ve set aside.” “I think the name is recognized across Canada,” Meens says of the networking success. “We have friends out west wearing our stuff, we’ve seen pictures of people wearing our clothing in New Zealand, Costa Rica. We’re just waiting for
our big break. We’re just working on finding the right person to say, ‘Hey, we want to sell your clothes in our store.’” Indeed, growth has been modest for Twisted Mounty, but Kerr and Meens are not stressing about it. “We’ve tried to make the company float itself,” Kerr points out. “We’ve not really made a lot, we’ve been reinvesting a fair bit. Over the past eight years we’ve probably invested $5,000 of our own money each but probably have gone through $100,000 in reinvesting.”
letters Dear Country Roads I thoroughly enjoyed your latest issue, especially the article on Oak Lake (‘The Lure of Oak Lake’, Spring 2012). It’s always a treat to read an article about the places and people you know. It was great to be reminded of Gilaine Mitchell’s book ‘Film Society.’ I had the pleasure of reading it when it first came out and could not put it down. It was the topic of much discussion in the community and you know it’s a good book when readers “swear” they know the fictional characters in the book. Having lived in Minto during the era in which the novel takes place it was easy to paint images as I went along. That’s why I love reading Canadian authors. Having a local author do such a superlative job makes it all the better. It’s also good to know that Donna Bonin has finally gotten a well deserved showing of her work in New York City. We have some wonderful artists in this community (another of my favourites is Terri Horricks) and I applaud the
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“It hasn’t been a fast rise,” Meens adds. “It’s taken a while. Some people think we’re raking it in but that’s not really the case. We’re still pushing it.” “Our parents have been very supportive,” Kerr adds. “My Mom’s a hairdresser and she sold the clothes at her place.” A big part of the sales mandate is to provide high quality clothing. “We make some of our own stuff but a Toronto company does most of our fabrics,” Kerr says. “We print some of the stuff ourselves. We try to get as nice stuff as we can. We don’t want to sell junk – we went through that one year.” In March the pair opened the Twisted Print Shop in the commercial plaza in the west end of Stirling, where they offer graphic design and screen printing, as well as trailer and vehicle stickering, jersey lettering and numbering. Things may be developing slowly but there’s no question business is going in the right direction for Twisted Mounty. And some eight years after starting their company, the feeling of pride they feel when they see someone wearing a piece of their clothing, or sporting a Twisted Mounty decal, hasn’t left. “It’s a good feeling,” Meens admits. “I don’t think that will ever go away. When I’m in Belleville and I see a Twisted Mounty sticker in the back window of a truck I just think to myself, ‘Look at that. Isn’t that cool?’”
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recognition you give their work through your magazine. Keep up the good work. Denyse Mouck Stirling, ON Dear Country Roads The business called the Old Hastings Mercantile and Gallery is really unique and worth the trip to visit. People are very pleasant and willing to help; there is so much to see you cannot do it justice in only one hour. It takes several visits to see it all. Larry Breakenridge Via website Editor’s note: The Old Hastings Mercantile and Gallery was one of the general stores profiled in our story ‘A Taste of the Past’ in the Spring 2012 issue.
Dear Country Roads We thoroughly enjoy your magazine and keep all issues at hand - great coffee table magazines. My husband Tim and I grew up in Hastings County near the Stirling - Foxboro area and returned from our early married years in Ottawa to raise our family here at “home.” I grew up on the vegetable/dairy farm on the Stirling - Foxboro Road so farming is in my blood! My family started in vegetables in 1962 or so. We started our own gardening business in 1991 here at Willow Creek and have enjoyed growing ever since. Our three boys could never say they were bored here on the farm - both with lots of work and play! Thanks again for such a celebration of our culture and history represented through your stories in Country Roads. Susan Vanden Bosch Frankford, ON