Ryan Grambart, president of CopperSmith, had his first start right here in the Maple Lake area. At the age of 30, Grambart has really made a name for himself in the copper industry.
Starting with gutters, he has moved on to copper sinks, stove hoods, bathtubs, tables, lighting, decor and more. The company has also reached out to many countries for copper artists and showcases the real deal when it comes to anything copper. As an entrepreneur, Grambart shows us that with a little hard work and a good idea anyone can be successful.
Grambart grew up in Silver Creek, going to school in the area. He was (and still is) an avid fisherman and sportsman.
“I got my start in installation. I had worked for a farmer and most of my jobs dealt with working with my hands,” Grambart said.
At the beginning he was a seamless gutter installer, eventually buying a seamless gutter machine. Doing that for awhile, he received a call from his uncle, bringing up the idea of copper gutters. With that phone call an idea sparked and it was off to the races.
Grambart started CopperSmith in 2009. He worked with high end contractors, as copper was more of an aesthetic than a utility for houses, not to mention copper has strength and anti-microbial properties that serve well in longevity, lasting over a hundred years. That is why copper is used on churches and government buildings.
Around 2010-2011, there was a call for different products such as copper planters and siding which led to an outreach for more viable products. Grambart did not hesitate to start broadening the products his company offered; there was a market for it. Stove hoods are what really took off for the company, and was even featured on Dean Johnson’s syndicated PBS show, “Hometime.”
Grambart started to broaden his company by reaching out to different countries such as India, China, Mexico and Algeria. He was finding artists that worked with copper and enlisted their help in building and constructing copper goods. He talked of a city in Mexico, Santa Clara Del Cobre, which held some of the best copper artists out there, dating all the way back to the pre-Hispanic era. Grambart learned that all these places had different ways of dealing and working with copper. He offered a very unique way of selling copper items by having them constructed in these countries and delivered not to the company, but the customer’s front door. People who bought his products were literally receiving these items from the countries themselves, which gave the products a “one-of-a-kind” feel. With help from designers and the customers themselves, he was creating products that were unique and hard to find anywhere else, which led to a successful business model for CopperSmith.
For the future, Grambart has big plans. He and his company have started creating smaller, more universalized items with copper to start appealing to those who want to see with home decor. He mentioned a new line of copper cookware from Algeria that hasn’t hit the market yet, but is highly anticipated. This new movement for CopperSmith will make affordable copper items available to anyone who is looking. CopperSmith is located in Golden Valley with a new showroom coming this fall.
Grambart said, “Think big and have big goals. It’s amazing what you can achieve.” Visit www.worldcoppersmith.com for more information, or call 612-558-5839.
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