Making dreams into memories
By NICK NARIGON
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| Dave Sherwood, co-owner of Precision Sheet Metal, Inc., Belle Plaine, and Brandon Vileta, president of Honey Creek Outdoors LLC, cut out a plate for Vileta’s invention, the HCO 190 camera arm at Precision Sheet Metal Tuesday, Sept. 1. |
When Brandon Vileta was beginning elementary school some 15 years ago, his mother noticed that he had taken apart all of his remote control cars and put them back together.
Brandon, now 20, continues tinkering and his curiosity and ingenuity allowed him to invent a camera arm that will compete with any on the market.
“I struggled to film my hunts in a tree stand at the quality I desired,” Brandon said. “I began looking into purchasing a camera arm, but I was unable to find a quality built arm for an affordable price so I began designing my own.”
A 2007 Iowa Valley graduate, Vileta is already president and founder of his own company, Honey Creek Outdoors, LLC. His mother, Lisa Vileta, and father, Bob Vileta, are vice presidents of the company, and his sister, Mandi Vileta, is a co-owner.
There are several branches of the Honey Creek business. Bob is a professional taxidermist and Brandon helps him out. They sell hunting apparel and equipment. They conduct semi-guided hunts, and provide personalized DVDs of the hunt.
Now, Honey Creek Outdoors Concepts in full bore, with Brandon producing the HVO 180 camera arm.
The camera arms currently on the market clamp on to trees and are stationary. The hunter can essentially only put the camera in one position.
Brandon said the idea just came to him last March to design a camera mount that is adjustable.
“I had never had one in my hands. It just came out of nowhere. I just went off of pictures,” he said.
He stayed up all night, working in his garage, building his first prototype.
Honey Creek Outdoors LLC presents... The company provides several services for all hunters, from beginners to the experienced
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Using the knowledge he learned in eighth grade exploratory class with Mr. Loftus, free computer software and his own know-how, Brandon invented the HCO 180.
What sets the camera mount apart from the others is the adjustable knuckle that gives the owner the ability to level the camera to any angle.
“It is essentially a tripod that hooks to a tree and stabilizes the camera. There is no bounce,” Brandon said.
He said he is in the process of obtaining a patent for the knuckle.
The uses for the arm are not limited to hunters, he said. The arm can be mounted to any surface: a boat, bleachers, you name it.
The HCO 180 comes in three models. There is the standard camera mount that has three adjustable arms. The twin camera arm has two arms and is slightly cheaper.
Brandon just came out with the elite camera arm that is made out of aluminum.
Brandon hasn’t stopped there either. He is developing the pro-series arm and there is more on the way.
One other component that sets the HCO 180 apart from its competitors is the cost.
The twin arm is $140, the standard arm is $180 and the elite series arm is $240.
The cheapest competitor sells a camera arm for $785, Brandon said, and they don’t even have all of the adjustments.
“This is something an everyday hunter can afford,” said Lisa Vileta.
The HCO 180 is starting to draw interest. Brandon has sold 10 arms and has three orders being made. He said he has an account pending to sell 250 of the arms. There are even outfitters in Africa that are interested in the arms.
The goal is to be able to mass-produce and market the arms.
The HCO 180 will be featured on the hunting show “Antler Addiction” in Wisconsin and they will hit other media outlets soon.
“By the middle of September, Brandon will be all over,” said Lisa Vileta.
The proceeds from sales will be used to build more arms and help fund the other Honey Creek endeavors.
With the growth of the business, came a need for more space.
Lisa’s father, Bob Berns, Belle Plaine, recently passed away. Bob and Fran Berns own Sharkee’s bait shop and liquor store at 708 12th St., Belle Plaine.
Bob was also an inventor, Lisa said, and not only did Brandon inherit Bob’s knack for inventing, but he now inherited Bob’s store.
Brandon and Lisa have moved Honey Creek’s operations into the former bait shop and will use it as the hub of their business.
They will sell consignment hunting and outdoor gear, they will be a dealer for Kinsey’s hunting equipment, they will sell archery and hunting supplies and hunting and fishing licenses.
Lisa has an office in the shop and Brandon has a workshop out back, as well as an editing room for his videos. They will also drop off and pick up taxidermy.
While they will be busy until the end of hunting season, Lisa said they hope to begin remodeling the store in January or February.
For more information about Honey Creek Outdoors and Productions, visit www.honeycreekoutdoors.com or call (319) 330-8294.
UPDATED September 9, 2009 10:16 AM