Haliburton’s newest business is bringing a unique product to the County: hordes of zombie gnomes.
Casper and Sadie Revenant are the owners of RevenantFX Canada and recently moved to Highlands East The pair, originally from Newmarket, make handcrafted gnomes and other creatures with a horror theme, which they sell online.
Casper Revenant said they have made the creatures since 2012. He added the business began unintentionally.
“We made a few of the gnomes for family and friends. Maybe we could sell a few of them. We posted the pictures online; they went viral and we’ve just been doing it ever since.”
The crafts range in price from $30-100. Besides gnomes, their wares also include accessories such as fairy doors and other creatures including squirrels, rabbits and a hybrid crocodile-penguin called a “crocopenguidill.”
Their creations can also take topical themes; one recent gnome creation holds a sign asking passersby to return home.
“Anything with horror and decor involved, we kind of have our fingers in now,” he said.
The concept came for their mutual interest in the genre. On Facebook, they name media that inspired them such as the Walking Dead, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later.
“We’re both big fans of horror, horror movies and zombie movies especially,” he said. “So, the idea came – what can we do with zombies and stuff? Gnomes just came about naturally.”
The pair is still getting their workshop up and running. They said they came to the County out of love for cottage country.
“There are space and forests, and where better can you make gnomes?” Revenant said.
The business owner said Halloween is not even their busiest season, adding they have lots of orders for gifts around Christmas. He further said the pandemic has had a positive impact on their store.
“It’s strangely enough been kind of good for us,” he said. “People are buying a lot from artists online from Etsy.”
The peculiar nature of the crafts makes them appealing, he said. He added they can always catch attention, whether positive or negative.
The best part of the job is the people they get to meet, the artist said.
“The people that buy the gnomes from us – kind of due to (the gnomes’) nature – you have to have a good sense of humour. So, we get to meet a lot of fun people,” Revenant said. “We’re really excited to be up here and really excited to be part of this community.”
The store is available via RevenantFX. com or etsy.com/ca/RevenantFX.
