Olympic licence latest 'pinnacle'Regina Leader-Post
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Chris Pasterfield, vice-president of Laurie Artiss Ltd., which has been named the official pin supplier to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
For Chris Pasterfield and the staff at Laurie Artiss Ltd., winning the worldwide competition to produce pins for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is like winning an Olympic gold medal.
"Getting a licence for Olympic pins is -- I hate to use the pun -- the pinnacle in our industry,'' said Pasterfield, vice-president of Laurie Artiss Ltd., the Regina-based lapel pin designer and manufacturer.
"We were fortunate enough to do pins for the Canada Games, Pan Am Games, and that's very, very rewarding. But the Olympics are absolutely the top when it comes to licensing for lapel pins,'' Pasterfield said.
In fact, pin trading is an unofficial Olympic sport, with more than 30 million traded at the Coca Cola Pin Trading Centres alone. "It's the one event spectators can participate in.''
Of course, Laurie Artiss Ltd., which was founded by former Leader-Post sports editor Laurie Artiss, who is now retired and living in B.C., is no stranger to Olympic competition.
Laurie Artiss Ltd. was the official pin supplier to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and has designed and manufactured pins for the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) for 10 Olympic Games.
Artiss, who was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame as a builder in 2004, turned over the business to his daughter and Chris's wife, Karen, in 1997. Karen Pasterfield, who is president of Laurie Artiss Ltd., has worked in the pin business since she was 13.
Despite the company's impressive credentials and sporting pedigree, winning the Olympic pin contract was no slam dunk.
Laurie Artiss Ltd. first had to submit an expression of interest to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) in spring and then be invited to submit a proposal.
The company also wisely joined forces with Aminco International of Lake Forest, Calif., which had the contract for the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.
"Combining the two firms (for the 2010 pin bid) was very beneficial. We take advantage of their recent merchandising and marketing experience in Salt Lake City and they take advantage of our heritage and tradition here in Canada,'' including 18 years of supplying the COC, he said.
Now that the pin contract has been awarded, the real work of designing, manufacturing and distributing pins begins. "We've got to come up with more than 2,000 designs,'' based on sporting, historical and cultural themes, Pasterfield said.
With five years to go before the Games begin, Pasterfield said the company can afford to make the odd mistake -- a well-designed, well-executed pin that, for whatever reason, doesn't sell well.
Laurie Artiss Ltd. also has some designs on the drawing board and some that are ready for the initial retail launch in December. "Our first series will be using the VANOC (Inukshuk) logo as a major component, then we'll bring out some skiing and hockey-type themes in time for Torino.''
That's because the 2010 Winter Games pins have to be ready for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. That means more work for the company's staff of about six, some additional hiring and probable relocation of Chris and Karen to Vancouver for the last year or two before the Games.
But Pasterfield said the contract to produce Olympics pins isn't a licence to print money.
"We've made a tremendous financial commitment to VANOC for this licence, so we have to sell a lot of pins. And we're going to have to expand locally and to Vancouver. We're going to have to take on some additional artists.''
That's why the staff at Laurie Artiss Ltd. are celebrating winning the Olympic pin contract, but don't plan on getting swelled heads over it.
"You cannot forget your core business. One thing we learned from Calgary in 1988 was exactly that. Olympics come and they go,'' Pasterfield said.
"We learned that we can't forget our schools and churches and local sporting groups that buy their pins from us. Because that's our bread and butter.''
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