Bruce Bolivar: Precision and Patience
Lines that Catch
True stories of Nova Scotians with Heather Stevenson
photos by Ardan & Heather Stevenson

The "Standard," clamped to a table in Bruce Bolivar’s computer room, looks like it might be some new fangled pencil sharpener. It's only when Bruce pushes a scrap of wool cloth to the opening and turns the handle that you really appreciate his invention. Effortlessly, the fabric moves into circular shears and, out the opposite end, come pieces of cloth cut into precise strips.

It's not surprising he invented the machine for it seems events pointed him in the direction. Bruce spent four years as a machinist apprentice in Halifax and became involved in manufacturing cans (mainly soft drink) when he landed a job in Dartmouth. The can company was bought out by an American firm and when they opened a plant in Newfoundland, he went there for two years.

This was just the beginning of many transfers that would see him revisit Dartmouth, then go on to Red Deer, Alberta and Montreal's west island. Manufacturing cans and machinist training taught him many lessons, especially precision.

Once he retired, Bruce and his wife Joan returned to Nova Scotia where he took a position at ABCO.

One day, Doris Eaton, a well-known rug-hooker, met Bruce's wife at Frenchys, a popular used clothing outlet.

"You seem to know what you’re doing," Joan said to Doris who was picking out wool garments for hooked rugs.

Doris helped Joan do the same and also helped her learn the art of rug-hooking.

A group of local rug-hookers, including Doris, decided to begin a business and they wanted everything made locally so they asked Bruce if he could build a cutter. Since he wanted to keep busy, he agreed.

"Retirement is the opportunity to do things you always wanted to do," says Bruce.

He had seen the cutters Joan rented to turn her wool fabric into strips for hooking.

Keeping it simple

"It's not rocket science," says Bruce, "The most difficult thing to do in designing is to keep it simple."

Bruce and Joan first marketed the model named "Standard" in 1993. It has three shear-heads which cut the three widths most commonly used by rug-hookers and to cut any of these widths the heads can be rotated.

Always seeking ways to improve, Bruce came up with both the "Triple Base Model V" and the "Single Base Model V" in 2005. "Triple Base" has shear-heads that are removable so the purchaser can buy extra shear-heads which come in various sizes and can cut strips as small as 3/32 inch to as large as half an inch. The "Single Base" is lightweight for rug-hookers who carry their cutters from one place to another.

Spin off jobs

All three cutters are made from mostly metal components. The base, body, and main moving parts are made from steel and aluminum, while other sections are from industrial grade nylon and brass. At first, Bruce manufactured all the parts himself, but now he has some made by a Mount Uniacke resident who has an automatic machine, proving Bruce’s home grown industry has provided spin off jobs for others. Three companies in the United States build cutters; Bruce Bolivar is the only one in Canada to do so.

He works five to six hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, although he claims his schedule is not well scheduled.

"I have three to four months of orders," says Bruce. "It's an ego booster to build something and have people wanting to buy it."

Global customers

Customers are willing to wait two years to get one of his machines. Bruce builds the cutters as a life time investment, saying today's customers should be able to pass them down to their grandchildren.

Doris Eaton claims the Bolivar Cutters (she has two) never get dull and Bruce explains why. The shear-heads, which are revolving scissors, barely touch one another so they don't become worn down by friction, another lesson he learned from the can factory.

Joan used to do all the selling online, but since she passed away, Bruce has taken on this job. Because he speaks with every customer by telephone after their order has been placed, he gets a more personal glimpse into the craft of rug-hooking and rug-hookers. Sometimes a rug shop will buy one of his cutters to create kits, other times a group of friends will buy one machine to share, but most often individuals place orders. They come from all over the world - Japan, Australia, England, South Africa, and especially the United States.

Of course, his home in Lunenburg County is filled with his wife's hooked mats and wall hangings. He also has a couple of Doris Eaton's hangings. With an eye for colour, Joan's art reflects a focus on detail and precision, not that different from her husband's work.

&/34;Joan and I were lucky,&/34; says Bruce, &/34;The secret is you need your own space. It helps create the environment.&/34;

In his backyard workshop, Bruce Bolivar is surrounded by his machinery. On one wall hangs a larger than life-size, black and white portrait of his wife's made from plastic by his son. Always striving to improve his cutters, coupled with Bruce's patience, leads one to believe there may be more changes to come.