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Show Bountiful businessmen cast 'A Handful of Memories ' for clients f , . ' i X l 1 m ' J I I I i By G. BRETT HART BOUNTIFUL Doesn't time seem to fly by too quickly? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to freeze a moment in time so that you could relive it over and over whenever you wanted? That was the idea three Bountiful businessmen had earlier this year when they founded their company, "A Handful of Memories," which makes plaster casts of infant and small children's hands and feet as a permanent 'memory of when they were small. Joe Vande Merwe said that he and partners Adrian Vande Merwe and Greg Buttars began the business as a part-time experiment which they would like to see grow into a full-time business. "My brother-in-law and I both have business degrees, and we've toyed with different ideas. This is just a product we came across and really liked," said Joe Vande Merwe. The process, which takes about one and one-half hours to complete, begins with immersing the child's hand or foot in a mud-like impression impres-sion material that stiffens to the consistency of stiff Jell-o. The impression material molds itself to the exact shape and allows the hand or foot to be removed without ruining the impression. The impression is then filled with a fine-grained plaster which allows the mold to capture the intricate details. The cast is then mounted on a polished wood base. "Bronze shoes have been done for years, but this is as personal as you can get. We get all the details in the hands and feet.' Vande Merwe said that the process pro-cess works best for younger babies because children between 1 0 months and two years tend to have a harder time holding still until the SEE MEMORIES C-4 Joe Vande Merwe and partners casts the hands and feet of children in fine plaster as part of their business 'A Handful of Memories.' The casts are detailed, detail-ed, exact replicas of the child's foot or hand. Intricate detailed replicas of a child's hands and feet can be created by the Bountiful based 'A Handful of Memories' for about $25. Due to the fine plaster used, the model is exact enough to show wrinkles in the skin and even hair follicles. material to get the process right.' Vande Merwe said that the Wasatch Wa-satch Front is a "good and bad" area for the business. "We have tons of kids here, but the Utah ethic is a do-it-yourself one. Utahns don't like to pay for something they think they can do better themselves. "Our contention is that this is something you can't do yourself because you waste all the materials trying to get it right. " Currently, "A Handful of Memories" has no central location. Appointments can made by calling ? 292-9331. It takes approximately three days to complete the finished i product. j MEMORIES CONT. FROM C-3 impression material stiffens. "We usually go over to their house at nap time or after they're asleep and do the impression then." According to Vande Merwe there are kits available that people can buy to make the casts themselves. "They're typically very close to our price range, but there's a lot or room for error. We still don't get 100 percent of them right. "It's not as easy as it looks. We practiced on all the kids in our families and went through a lot of |
