District trapper learning to exploit value-added market

It’s not difficult to see where Bill Mueller’s interests lie. One look at his den/workshop tells you this is a man who loves the outdoors.
From the mounted heads on the walls, to the crossbow in the corner, the fishing rods against the far wall, and the gun cabinet on the front wall, it’s quite obvious the man spends a lot of time outside his home in Crozier.
“Trapping, hunting, and fishing. I centre my whole life around that—and my family,” he said.
By day, Mueller, 40, is a forester for Hydro One. He and his crew are responsible for clearing the vegetation around hydro lines and maintaining clear access.
Needless to say, they spend a lot of time outside.
“I’m outdoors every day,” he remarked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
But depending on the time of year, on weekends Mueller either is at his cottage on Rainy Lake, stalking moose and deer, or tending his traplines.
It is the latter that has gone from a barely sustainable hobby to a profitable business in the span of two years.
Bill Mueller’s Custom Fur Products is an enterprise he runs out of his home, where he makes mitts, hats, earmuffs, collars, and headbands—almost exclusively out of furs he has trapped himself.
He also uses hides and leather that he purchases from others. “I’m trying to stay mostly with fur, though,” he stressed.
Mueller does all the work himself, except for the tanning. This he has done in Winnipeg because he feels this tanner does a better job of it than he could do himself.
Besides, the chemicals used are not the sort of things you want hanging around the house anyway.
The idea of becoming a furrier occurred to Mueller after meeting a man in Winnipeg who was handling some of his skins. This master furrier is an immigrant from Vietnam who started in a coat factory making alterations, but branched out on his own 25 years ago.
Through word of mouth, Chute Nguyen became known for his superior craftsmanship and eventually caught Mueller’s attention.
“He didn’t want to become a teacher, but I kept watching what he did and asked so many questions, he finally agreed to take me on as a student,” Mueller recalled.
“He made it clear this was a one-time deal, though.”
So Mueller sat with the master for four days initially, then began to work on his own with coaching over the phone from Nguyen.
“We have become tremendous friends,” Mueller enthused.
The decision to make his own finished products turned out to be a shrewd business move as well as a hobby. With the market for fur being as volatile as it is, Mueller saw this as a hedge against further fluctuations.
“Thirty years ago, a fisher pelt would go for up to $350,” he noted. “Today, it fetches $35-$50, but if I make a hat out of that pelt, I can sell it for $180.”
But first Mueller needed the right equipment. Sewing furs to the meticulous standards Nguyen maintained cannot be done on a regular machine.
Nguyen told him what he needed was a purpose-built machine made by Allbook and Hashfield in England in order to achieve the seamless look fine furs demand.
After an exhaustive and fruitless search, Mueller realized how scarce these machines are and was relieved when Nguyen made one available to him.
“I suspect he was testing me to see if I was really serious about this,” Mueller concluded.
Over the ensuing months, Mueller perfected his skills, cutting and sewing, and in the process, took some ribbing from his buddies on the hydro crew.
“A lot people wondered when I got into sewing,” he laughed. “I’ve heard every joke from my crew. They nicknamed me The 230-pound Seamstress.”
But his crew didn’t joke about the results of his work. Like Mueller, they are outdoorsmen and volunteered to field test his products. And so far, the results have been positive.
In fact, Mueller recently contacted Hugh Dale-Harris in Thunder Bay, who is planning to embark on an expedition to the North Pole on Feb. 20.
Dale-Harris currently is field-testing a pair of Mueller’s moose skin gauntlets trimmed with coyote fur and if he is satisfied, he will be taking them with him to the Pole.
In the meantime, Mueller continues to make his hand-crafted fur products. He recently made an arrangement with Rainy Lake Sports and Tackle in Fort Frances to sell his products there, and is exploring other outlets.
But most of what he makes he sells directly from his home.
Mueller sees himself filling a market niche into which few others will venture. Even Nguyen is getting out of the business and instead will be concentrating exclusively on repairs and alterations from now on.
“There used to be 200 furriers in Winnipeg. Now there are only seven,” said Mueller. “This is a lost art, a dying trade.”
But it’s not dead yet in Rainy River District.