The owners of Heavy Critters joke that they aren’t sure if they’re running a retail shop or museum. More than 6,000 statues made of concrete, granite, jade, boulder stone, lava rock and resin fill six buildings and the grounds around the Oshkosh, Wis., farmstead. The sheer quantity and the huge variety make it a destination attraction for people who just want to look.
Tom and Cindy Glatz, and Cindy’s brother, Ron Wachholz, and his wife, Linda, own and operate Heavy Critters on the homestead that’s been in the Wachholz family since 1915. The partners started their business 10 years ago after visiting a rural statuary business in another state and realizing that there wasn’t anything like it in Wisconsin. Heavy Critters is in a good location, just south of Oshkosh, near a busy intersection. “Our best advertising is our silo and our brochure,” says Cindy. She supplies Oshkosh hotels, businesses and tourist stops with brochures, and Heavy Critters painted on the silo makes a perfect landmark for visitors.
“If you can think of something, we’ve probably got it,” Cindy says, standing in the midst of statues that range from small concrete lady bugs that children paint at birthday parties, to fountains and 2,000-lb. statues. As members of the Ornamental Concrete Producers Association, the partners purchase from 22 statuary manufacturers that cover the gamut from wildlife and domestic animals, to saints and gargoyles, to a man holding a pizza and a Harley bench. So far the only request that Cindy hasn’t been able to fill is a spine for a chiropractor.
The business has grown through hard work, teamwork and networking.“The four of us had this great idea, but we never thought about who would do what,” Cindy says. “As it evolved, we each developed our own area without stepping on each other’s toes.” Cindy handles ordering, marketing and organizing events. Tom fixes and restores. Linda paints and custom airbrushes the statues. Ron moves and transports the statues. Until she died in September 2007, the Wachholzes’ mother, Virginia, loved to welcome and deal with customers. Cindy made good contacts through a local marketing network group. Through it she met website developers and marketers with creative ideas.
While the main focus of Heavy Critters is selling, the farm is also an event destination. Heavy Critters hosts birthday parties for children and fundraisers with a percentage of sales going to a specific cause. They also welcome bus tours and sponsor garden parties at their farm.
“We really are just a unique, fun place and we invite everyone to come see us,” she says. Heavy Critters is open from April 1 to Dec. 23. Prices range from $2 to thousands of dollars, but many items can be purchased for $25 to $100. Samples of available statues from one of the manufacturers can be downloaded on the Heavy Critters website. Just ask for whatever you have in mind, Cindy adds, and she can probably find it. Most items can be handled with a handcart and be shipped.
This article originally published by Farm Show
Vol. 32, No. 5, 2008