When Gino Toreli completed his business degree from the University of Michigan-Flint last summer, the lower rungs of a corporate ladder was the last place he wanted to end up.
So Toreli, a 2003 Brandon High School graduate pooled some cash and opened Island in the Sun Tanning, 1591 S. Ortonville Road’a tanning business featuring eight beds and some new high tech lights. His concept of a hometown youth now entrepreneur has paid off with business almost tripling since he opened his store this past summer.
But Toreli added a new twist to tanning’art.
‘My dad (who happens to be named Gino also) is very artistic so a few years ago he found an old railroad spike and saw a person in that’which became the basis for ‘Spike Art,? said Toreli.
Utilizing a tig welder, his father Gino acquired a garage full of railroad spikes from a sister in West Virginia and used some additional scrap metal that would have gone to waste. His art pieces are handmade from steel attached to a base, and clearcoated to prevent rust.
‘The rest is history’from hunters to boxers to doctors’dad created hundreds of action spike art from his Groveland Township home. Dad hated to see pieces of scrap metal go to waste so he turned them into art.?
Customers can peruse a showcase of Spike Art just in time for Christmas, added Toreli.
Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Details: 248-821-0179 or www.spikeartinc.com.