Masterline Molds Scrapbook: Hallowe'en Page By Shauna Secord...Horror Movie Props Molding

     So Hallowe'en is screaming closer and my post this week is about two horror movies. My dad John Secord had a man walk into Masterline Molds around the late 80's looking for tiles and thin slabs that would explode without hurting anyone and break easily. John Secord created some molding and suggested that they use earthenware clay in its unfired greenware state to achieve the effect. They colored the un-fired greenware earthenware clay the colors they needed to create the look and it worked great from the tests he gave them. My mom had to be home to receive us from school, so when it came time for the movie effects people to pick up the molds he made for them, they decided to have them show up at our home to get the molds.

     This guy showed up with the movie effects people. Yes, "Ham Tyler" from "V" was in my driveway drinking some of my mom's freshly made lemonade because he was thirsty and reciting lines from this movie "Prom Night 2" that my dad, John Secord had done some molding for. While My dad and the effects man discussed some molding, I interviewed personally Michael Ironside about his career and life. It was enjoyable and when they were done placing the molds into the car, Michael Ironside acted out the end of the movie "Prom Night 2"....later, my dad created some more molding for "Prom Night 3".

Masterline Molds Scrapbook By Shauna Secord....Miniature Originals Created by Sharon Secord

     As John enjoyed working on large items, Sharon Secord, my mom enjoyed creating smaller items. Sharon has been the primary sculptor for Masterline Molds knowing that her enjoyment is found in creating the tiniest of ceramic products. Under Miniature Originals, she developed small ceramic teapots with bunnies and mice instead. Letting her imagination grow, she turned them into slightly larger scenes (2.5" in height) with wizards and dragons, or Holiday bunnies preparing for parties. She has made many of these little tiny ceramic miniatures, most noted for the little teapot mice. She created a mold for the teapots that was about 1" in height and had sculpted little scenes of daily life in the Teapot and Bunnyville Villages. These little scenes have been collected through the decades Internationally and sometimes she would be commissioned to create special pieces for private collectors who had a hobby or a theme the enthusiast asked to have miniaturized.

She would create ink and water colour drawings and then sculpt. This is a close up of one of Sharon Secord's Hand Sculpted Miniatures named Tea Time in Bunnyville complete with cabbages in the garden, a teapot on the table with carrot cake and a little bunny doll cradled in the hands of a young bunny bathing in the afternoon sun. 

Masterline Molds Scrapbook By Shauna Secord...Canadian Olympic and Athletes Hand Imprints

     This is how I have recognized my father John Secord since I was born with the moustache!!! This picture is a close up from another picture I will post where is with some Canadian Olympians.

This is how I have recognized my father John Secord since I was born with the moustache!!! This picture is a close up from another picture I will post where is with some Canadian Olympians.

This picture was taken at the ground breaking ceremony for the Olympic Spirit Museum which was created in the early 2000s. Toronto, Ontario was making a bid to host the Olympics. Bruny Surin - Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist 4x100m Relay Race, Marnie McBean - Canadian 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Coxless Pairs, Eights Events, Double Skulls, Bronze Medalist in Quadruple Skulls, Cheryl Pounder - Canadian 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist in Women's Hockey, Chris Harnett - Canadian Olympic Silver Medalist, 2-time Bronze Medalist in Cycling where there for the ground breaking ceremony and Masterline Molds made the rubber molds for the tiles. I was in the back making the stone for their hand impressions while the speeches resinated through the air and when they were ready and the stone was firm enough, they placed their hands in for the impressions to be made.

This is Steve Nash.  He had his hand impressions made later.  Masterline Molds helped make his tile too.  I enjoyed that afternoon at the Olympic Spirit Museum, which was open and holding a press conference for Steve Nash who was in the city working on a Canadian basketball project for kids in the Toronto Community.  I know the Museum closed and Rogers Communications purchased the build that was renovated into studios for City TV and Omni TV in 2009.

Masterline Molds Scrapbook By Shauna Secord... Origins of Masterline Molds

     This is a picture of my dad, John Secord. This is the only time in my life I have not seen him with a moustache. It is a close up image of him from a newspaper article when he first started in the ceramic industry and made molds.

     This is the article from that close up picture. My dad set up a barn board booth at a convention in Ontario in 1970 for their company White Oak Pottery. This is how Masterline Molds began, as a ceramic company that my Nana owned called White Oak Pottery. It was a curio shop and ceramic studio in Oakville, Ontario. My parents bought the business and moved it to their farm in Acton, Ontario wher...e they started creating unique design based ceramic products. 

     My father learned mold making from an English Pottery maker and from their they began a business. Their studio was in a barn near their farmhouse, furnished with kilns and freshly made blocks that formed the molds that the created the finished product. Sharon had learned about formulating clay and glazes and so they started to design items they enjoyed with a Canadian style. Members from a Japanese Trade Delegation arrived at the booth and placed an initial order of 160 items that they were going to sell at the World's Fair Expo in Japan (1970) for Canada Week. The item was an earthenware ceramic Maple Leaf dish with multi-coloured glazes done in a technique my mother created. 

     The order grew with incredible rate. The Canadian Government had asked for their products to travel through the southern United States on a promotional campaign for trade commerce between Canada and the United States. The ceramic molds were made in the Masterline Molds style of ceramic molding and the finished product was innovative. The Maple Leaf dish was one item of many....

 

Masterline Molds Scrapbook Beauty and The Beast Project

     I work with Masterline Molds.  They are a design company that has provided something different to clients for many years...over 40 years.  They create products and the molding for companies to manufacture finished products in various mediums.  They also are Family and I have had to work to earn my position in this company.  They have created some great products and have had many enjoyable memories of what they have accomplished.  Now they are allowing me to share their stories with you.  Enjoy the scrapbook.  I will be posting on Monday every week with a new story.

In the 90's there was a Disney movie called "Beauty and the Beast". One afternoon, Wayne Fromm (company name FrommWorks) who owned the patents to creating a talking "Beauty and The Beast" mirror walked into Masterline Molds and met my mom ...Sharon Secord. He needed a prototype mirror created so that it could be manufactured in plastic. Sharon sculpted the mirror and when Wayne approved the look, some plaster prototypes were created for the toy manufacturers to use for the plastic injection molding machines. Sharon cast some ceramic mirrors and finished them so that they had samples to work with while they mass produced the plastic toy version.