Extreme exposure

WASILLA — Some local businesses are finding success and exposure with a little help from a big show.

The 2008 Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show is in full swing this weekend with more than 100 vendors showing off their outdoors-related products and services. A walk through the aisles at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex Saturday revealed an array of nifty gadgets and useful products.

Chris Perry, a Meadow Lakes resident, ventured to the sports complex to show off E-Z Hook, a hand-crafted cooking utensil.

“We’ve been making [E-Z Hook] for about 18 years,” Perry said. “My dad came up with the design and we’ve been making them ever since. The only thing we don’t do is grow the tree and mine the steel.”

Perry said E-Z Hook has a number of uses. As a grapple, the tool allows users to grab food from grills, ovens or stoves with ease and without burning the extremities. The stainless steal hook only penetrates the top layer of meat, so it can handle food over a fire while it maintains its juices. E-Z Hook also serves as a grill scrapper, pickle grabber and bacon flipper.

The Meadow Lakes resident said his dad began making utensil to give away as gifts, but now he’s turned it into business. Without having a storefront, he relies on events like this weekend’s Outdoorsman Show to sell his product.

“First of all, it helps me do my business by the fact that I do point of sale,” he said. “I never try to make people buy. I just show them what I have and they will either buy it today or they’ll call me later.”

After a day and a half of promoting his product, Perry said he’s not sure how many E-Z Hooks have sold, but business is brisk.

“It’s been great,” he said. “We’ve had a good flow of traffic and I’m sure everybody’s happy to be out of the house.”

A few vendors away, Jon Stark stands in front of a peculiar vehicle.

Stark, owner of Cook Inlet Mini Trucks, said he turned a love for off-road-vehicles into a fun way to supplement his income. He orders mini trucks from Japan and either sells them as is or adds some major upgrades. Many vehicles go straight to the Bush without any improvements.

“It’s a cheaper alternative to a lot of other Bush transportation,” Stark said.

Not only does the company import the vehicles, but it also customizes the rigs to meet the needs of individual customers.

“The other thing we do with them is we build them as off-road-vehicles,” he said. “We can put lift kits on them and do all kinds of fancy things like body wraps, Camoclad, Rhino Line the body, custom interiors and tracks — the kind of things for guys that like the extreme stuff.”

Stark said the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show has been a good way to introduce his product to the Valley and hopefully future customers. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if he sells all 10 of the vehicles he has in stock.

“This is a great advertising atmosphere,” he said. “People can come and look at this and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to do these shows. The exposure is awesome.”

Similar to Perry, Stark said people might not buy his product at the show, but get the information needed to make a purchase in the future.

Although big boy toys are plentiful at the show, other businesses like Jacobson’s Greenhouse and Nursery also have a place at the event.

Cory Jacobson said she hasn’t been a vendor at trade shows for about 10 years, but she figured it was time to give it another try.

“Technically, we are an outdoor thing and this is called the Outdoorsman Show, so I thought I would give it a shot and give the women a chance to buy something at the show instead of four-wheelers and hunting stuff.”

Jacobson said the show is a chance for her to spread the word about her business to new Valley residents.

“It has been awesome,” she said. “It’s better than I would have expected, actually. There have been a lot of people interested in our business, including men.”

Overall, Jacobson and other business owners say they hope the event will bring more people through their doors and more money into their cash registers. With a strong crowd of people and positive response at the show, many expect good results.

The 2008 Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $4 for adults. The event is free for military and children 12 years old or younger.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.