HUNTSVILLE, Ontario, June 2017 — An 8-year-old Canadian “kidpreneur” has launched a small business making one-of-a-kind, handmade step stools for children. Owen’s bench company (www.thenicebenchco.com) uses sustainable-source wood and non-toxic milk paint. The company donates a portion of the proceeds to help families affected by childhood cancer — a cause close to his heart.
The wood comes to The Nice Bench Co in air-dried rough-hewn planks harvested from a neighbour’s private sustainable forest in Novar, Ontario, Canada. Owen’s dad cuts the planks to size before Owen planes, routers and assembles with a drill, screws and glue. The detail-oriented young CEO then glues wooden plugs to cover each of the screw holes. Each “nice bench”, as Owen calls them, is then sanded and finished with biodegradable, zero VOC milk paint. Canadian manufacturer Homestead House Paint Co. generously donates some of the milk paint for Owen’s kidpreneur enterprise.
Owen gives each bench another careful sanding before sealing with Homestead House Paint Co.’s hemp oil or bees wax, resulting in an attractive patina. The standard colour palette was selected by Owen and his mother, who oversees production and quality. Owen’s older brother Caden gives the final lookover before signing off.
The inspiration for the benches came when Owen built and painted a bench for his little sister, Anikka. His grandparents and auntie loved Anikka’s new bench so much, that Owen was fueled to make more. He built twelve with scrap wood on Christmas Day! Those first bench prototypes were a little rough-looking, but the idea was born.
The ever-creative CEO produces a solid-colour “Happy” line, a distressed “Wild” line and The Nice Bench Company’s finest work, the “Curious” line of custom stripe creations. “Happy”, “Wild” and “Curious” can all be used to describe Owen and his entrepreneurial spirit.
The Nice Bench Co. was launched April 2017 on Facebook. The first sale was celebrated twenty days later. Since then, he has run out of his wood plank stock, twice. He has been able to donate $150.00 in gas cards to The Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC), helping to offset travel expenses for Northern families traveling to and from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
When questioned about goals, the young CEO replied, “I want to be on the ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ and start a charity to help children with cancer”. Owen even threatened to give his little sister lice if she didn’t let him watch the Ellen Show. When asked what he will do if he gets too many orders, Owen’s answer is: “I don’t know”…with a sparkle of hope in his eyes.