Building a brand at Freeman Fabrication

Freeman wants to be able to create other outdoor furniture such as privacy screens like the one seen here that match the aesthetic of the planters and other work that she does. Images: Freeman Fabrication

Anyone who has launched their own business will tell you that many factors must combine to achieve success: ability, opportunity, and the occasional lucky break all play a role at some point. Maintaining and growing a business, however, involves establishing a brand and an operational approach that stands out and is sustainable.

Bronte Freeman, owner and founder of Freeman Fabrication, Shawnigan Lake, B.C., might say that she has benefited from some luck, but her approach to business growth is very much grounded on allowing challenges to form her and leaning into that to help support the growth of other women. In the process, she has created an aesthetic for the products she makes which has led to the company’s distinctive style.

Choosing the Right Path

Freeman didn’t pick up a welding torch seriously until her early 20s, after completing a kinesiology degree in Nova Scotia.

“I went back home to Ontario knowing that I had no interest in pursuing a career in that field,” she said. “My dad used to be in the trades, though, and my grandpa and uncles all worked in automotive restoration, so I was aware of welding. But it wasn’t until I went home for Christmas and my uncle, Dwayne Adams, suggested that I weld a bumper he was working on that I saw that I potentially had that skill. I was instantly captivated.”

Like many people, Freeman’s perception of welding work was skewed. She thought she’d have to work out in the field somewhere, in the oil sector or doing structural work.

“I didn’t know enough to realize that I wanted to get into the metal design and fabrication side of the business,” she said. “But I wanted to see where welding could take me.”

Living in Whistler at the time, Freeman was drawn to the Women in Trades Training (WITT) program at Camosun College on Vancouver Island and the opportunity to get a basic, well-rounded education in welding techniques.

“Camosun had a brand-new facility, which was appealing because I could work with new tooling and equipment,” she said. “It was pretty impressive. And of course, they had the WITT program.”

The program was the boost that she needed.

“I feel like you come out of that program after seven months with a really solid base as a welder, having learned many different positions and processes,” Freeman said.

Freeman Fabrication moved into its new 3,800-sq.-ft. Shawnigan Lake location in December 2023.

Entrepreneurial Drive

After graduation, Freeman went on to work as a welder’s assistant for a railing company and a business that made sports equipment. Although this gave her some opportunity to weld, she realized that she wanted to expand her fabricating knowledge—and start her own business.

“I come from a very entrepreneurial family,” Freeman explained. “My parents own their own business, and I grew up in an environment that supported that sort of independence. It just seemed natural for me to buy my own welding power source and start tinkering with the idea of my own company.”

Freeman started by purchasing a Lincoln Electric Power MIG 215 MPi multiprocess welding machine and started welding in a friend’s basement, making small brackets and some furniture for herself. The business grew from there.

“I started taking my furniture pieces to pop-up markets around Victoria on the weekends, and that’s how I built my client base,” she said. “I didn’t sell much, initially. It was really more a place where I became part of the community, meeting people and networking. That was really important for the start of my business.”

Freeman began the company in earnest in 2018, but she didn’t open up her own shop—a 1,200-sq.-ft. space in Victoria—until early 2020.

“I had just made this investment in a proper space when the pandemic hit,” she recalled. “I was convinced that it would mean the end of my business, but it ended up being the exact opposite.”

Home Comfort

Freeman describes the style of her furniture designs as “one that combines a passion for quality metal work and for sourcing raw local materials. With this, our aspiration is to create a unique and noteworthy piece for every customer.”

This ethos really began when she furnished her own apartment in Victoria because she didn’t want any part in the “fast furniture” movement (quick to make, quick to break).

“At our core, we value a high-quality, local, and sustainable market,” the company website explains.

This approach really touched a chord for local homeowners in the Victoria area when the pandemic hit.

When it came to hiring new talent, Freeman wanted to encourage other women to pursue the career that she has come to love. She reached out to the WITT program at Camosun to find that talent. She has hired three women from the program.

“People invested a great deal in the spaces where they had to be,” said Freeman. “And I’m lucky that there are a lot of people in the area that really value craftsmanship.”

Instead of shutting down her business, Freeman had hired her first employee within the year.

The business was making everything from stair railings to planter pots and working in materials such as steel, aluminum, and COR-TEN steel.

Strategic Hiring

There aren’t that many women-owned fabrication shops in the country, and when it came to hiring new talent, Freeman wanted to encourage other women to pursue the career that she has come to love. It was only natural to reach out to the WITT program at Camosun to find that talent. She has since hired two more women from the program.

“When I started as a welder, I definitely felt like an impostor in the trades,” Freeman explained. “Thinking about that as I grew my business, I knew I wanted to be a mentor to other women in the trades, to help them build that confidence while also giving them the independence to make an impact on what we do here.”

If she has struggled with anything over the years, it has been learning to delegate the work. But the hiring process has made her more and more confident to loosen the reins on the job.

“I feel like we have good systems, good processes in place so that I can do that,” she said. “My team is really aware of the high quality that we want to deliver. I feel like we’re a strong team that is all on the same page now.”

The varied experience of her employees has also helped.

“One of our fabricators was formerly a woodworker, and I find those trades translate really well,” she explained. “Her attention to detail, the push to get the perfectly smooth finished piece, is a huge asset.”

Investing in Growth

Freeman Fabrication moved into its new 3,800-sq.-ft. Shawnigan Lake location in December 2023, just in time to take delivery of its first plasma table, a 5- by 10-ft. FastCut Icon Elite CNC with a Hypertherm Powermax85 SYNC head, which can cut material up to 1 in. thick.

The clean lines and attention to detail of this bedroom door is an example of the aesthetic Freeman aims for in all its fabrications.

“That purchase has been huge for us,” said Freeman. “It will make us more competitive in the industry because we were outsourcing all of our cutting before. Particularly in the summer months, when we might make 350 planters in a matter of two months, that will help us speed up production.”

It also opens up opportunities to do other work. Ultimately, Freeman wants to be able to create other outdoor furniture such as privacy screens and firepits that match the aesthetic of the planters and other work that she does. This investment creates the flexibility to do that in a cost-effective way.

Next up, she hopes to invest in a press brake to speed bending processes as well.

“We have a really strong client base that appreciates the look of what we do,” Freeman said. “Being able to build on that will be key to our future growth.”

Those existing customers continue to come back because they understand what to expect from the Freeman Fabrication team.

“We have builders, designers, and landscape architects that we work with regularly, and they come to us because they know we can help tackle complex transitions in spaces,” she said. “They know we are going to spend that little extra time on the details. Everything we do in our designs is very intentional, which is both fun and stressful at times because we want to make sure we get it right.”

Building a brand that can last demands that attention to detail. Like mentoring young employees, it’s a continually changing landscape. Bronte Freeman is ready for whatever comes.

Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@fmamfg.org.

Freeman Fabrication, www.freemanfabrication.ca

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