A little more than three years ago, a kitchen designer friend asked him to make a temporary metal range hood for a customer who was waiting on a $30,000
one she had ordered. The woman liked Plummer's range hood so much she canceled the order.
And so a second business -- creating custom metal range hoods -- was born.
Now, Plummer has streamlined the process for making them, so customers can get one of his customized 12- or 14-gauge steel range hoods for about the same price as a plain stainless steel one. With thousands of color and pattern options, Plummer said, "Our biggest problem is getting people to make up their minds."
Tricia Dolcemascolo of Bergen County, N.J., saw a small ad for Valley Tin Works in a magazine last year and knew right away she wanted one of its back splashes in her kitchen. She planned to order the material and try to install it herself until she learned that Plummer would travel to her house and do it for her.
"It didn't cost much more, and it was worth it," she said. "He painted it all in my back yard and it was all installed in one day. He also custom-made a windowsill for me."
She said the pieces are the highlights of her kitchen renovation, and she gets tons of compliments on them.
"It's totally the 'wow' factor of my kitchen," she said. "It's so much nicer than granite and tile -- gorgeous and durable. I can wash and wipe it and nothing happens."
Amir Girgis of Diva de Provence custom stove company, refers customers who want range hoods to go with their stoves to Plummer. "He can do things and replicate the looks that our customers might want," he said.
"He is pretty unique in what he does. A lot of the other guys just build hoods, but Chris brings an artistic side to things that a lot of other companies don't have. He's more of an artist than a sheet-metal vendor."
771-2034; jvogelsong@ydr.com.
ABOUT 17329
Population: 2,679
Number of households: 880
Average house value: $138,000
Average income per household: $58,080
Number of businesses: 38
Number of employees: 170
Source: www.zip-codes.com
ABOUT PLUMMER
Age: 37
Residence: Jefferson
Family: Wife, April; daughter, Autumn, 3.
Occupation: Artist, owner of Metallo Arts, Valley Tin Works
Hobbies/interests: Collecting knives
Most influential figure: William S. Burroughs
TIN CEILINGS
In the late 1880s, tin ceilings gained popularity in North America as an affordable alternative to European plaster. They were traditionally painted white to give the appearance of hand-carved or molded plaster.
In the 1930s, tin ceilings began to disappear from American homes as metal went for the war effort. Now, they are seeing a resurgence in popularity.
Although called tin, such ceilings are usually made from chromium-plated steel or zinc.
Source: Christopher Plummer, Valley Tin Works
ABOUT THIS SERIES
UnZIPping York County is a monthly series that travels through the county's 57 postal ZIP codes to uncover some of the best untold stories. So far this year, we've visited:
--A man who channels the power of scent in 17322.
--A group that keeps an old-fashioned art form alive in 17313.
--A mother goose who made her nest in front of a bookstore in 17402.
--A laughter club that meets at York College in 17405.
--A restored mill and folk-art center in 17019.
--A group of pingpong players in 17363.
--A marionette maker in 17356
--A worm farmer in 17362
To read these stories, go to the Lifestyle section of inyork.com/ydr and choose " UnZIPping York" from the special features menu.
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