My Story

In 2018, while visiting my family in Utah, I got to spend some time with my then ninety-year-old Grandpa Don, a retired sheet metal tradesman. Don is a visionary, always inventing and creating. He never stops learning, has taught himself Spanish and devours history books, and at ninety-one, he has mastered texting and FaceBook. Don has a shop in his basement where he cuts stars by hand with tin snips from flattened rolls of galvanized metal. He sands, files, and washes the star before bending the star by hand with tools he has made. My Grandpa got the idea from my Aunt Mindy and they decided that if they put holiday paper and bows on them, people might buy them which is exactly what happened. My Grandpa became “The Tin Man” and his enterprise had begun.

It was during that trip that my Grandpa Don sent me home with some small blank stars. I brought them home and papered them for my own Christmas tree. Almost every visit since, I've brought back more stars in all sizes. I'd paper them and give them as gifts but didn't really know what I was doing and they didn't turn out great. I'd share my progress and struggles with my Grandpa via text and in return, received tutorials, photos, advice and even some tools and star-making supplies in the mail. It wasn't until a family visit in October 2019 that I began taking the star-making serious. I spent a few days with my Grandpa in his shop, creating, learning, and most importantly, sharing the joy, passion, and satisfaction that comes from making something that people love.

My Grandpa said he’d be willing to teach me his craft and I went to visit him again in February 2020 for what I thought would be a quick trip to learn how to make the stars from metal myself. I'd seen him make them before, I'd had a few lessons on previous visits, and I knew it was a tedious and time-consuming process but I had no idea how muchI needed to learn.

That visit, when I went down to my Grandpa's “star factory” in the basement, I was ready get to work making stars but he my Grandpa was moving a little slow and took him longer than normal to turn on the light and enter the shop. Upon entering, I realized why---he had calculated a grand reveal.

I saw all of these stars hanging on the shelf and my Grandpa said, "You see these stars? I made them with YOUR tools." I turned around to find a workbench full of handmade tools that he made for me. It was a long weekend and I spent every day, all day, at star school trying to learn and absorb his craft. I took pictures and videos. He sent me home with almost 100lbs of tools and a packet of handdrawn instructions and diagrams.

Summer of 2020 I was able to set up my own shop, I’ve worked hard to mimic the star factory he has in his basement. I set up the tools he made me and I invested in a slip roll to flatten metal, a drill, a couple of work benches, vice clamps, wire cutters, files, and more. My Grandpa, at ninety-one-years old, has continued to teach me through text—video tutorials, photos, diagrams and advice.

The relationship I have with my Grandpa Don is special and he is a guiding force for everything I do in life. He encourages me to take risks and live a purposeful life. He has inspired me to be a life long learner and creator and to make sure that I leave a legacy for future generations.

A Star Is Born is the legacy that he and I will leave together.