Hey! I'm Cam, the creator and maker of Empire Copper. You may have been here before but I thought I would re-introduce myself / share a little update for those who are new. 

I live in Perth, Western Australia and have done for almost my entire life with the exception of a little stint living in North Queensland. I am married to my wife, Beth who is also my business partner. 

Over the years, I've had many hobbies such as BMX, fire spinning, powerlifting and working on whatever car I had at the time; currently a Cerulean Blue 1964 XM Ford Falcon. I am also a huge Simpsons fan *cough* NERD and I have dedicated my entire left arm to the show, covering it in my favourite characters. I would go as far to say that I am a Simpsons connoisseur and if someone quoted a line to me from any of the initial 20 seasons, I could almost definitely tell you what episode it was from. 

I am a trade qualified sheet metal worker and have been doing that for the last 11 years. My first introduction to copper was in 2017. I became instantly fascinated with its properties and how different to other metals it was. I started experimenting with copper and copper patination after work and on the weekends, quickly becoming immersed in the process.

In mid 2019, I created @empirecopper on Instagram for the purpose of being a blog. I figured my friends had probably tired of seeing my experiments on my personal Instagram and so I made the switch. The more I shared, the more feedback I got and before I knew it, I was starting to get custom requests. By October 2019, we were selling on Etsy and early in 2020 we made our first overseas sale to Las Vegas, Nevada - stoked was an understatement!

Since then, we haven't really stopped; including the launch of this website on January 1st, 2021. We are constantly dreaming up new product ideas, making prototypes and experimenting with patination. 

When I think about our range, I always struggle to decide on a favourite piece. Although the Half Time Blue Patina Wall Clock is by far our best selling clock. My favourite piece to make is our Half Time Black Patina Wall Clock as I can quite literally watch the patina develop in front of my eyes, almost immediately.

If you'd like to know more about me, Beth or our business journey make sure to follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

- Cam 

 

April 12, 2022 — Cameron Hayes

Leave a comment