After 50 years, Hampshire Pewter continues to shine. The family-owned company, led by Kathy Guptill and her husband, Harold, continues to handcraft timeless pieces, proving that some traditions remain untarnished.
Although the business was founded in the mid-1970s, the Guptills purchased Hampshire Pewter in 2005 with another couple. In 2009, they became sole owners, with Kathy joining full-time in 2013. The company operates stores in Somersworth and Wolfeboro, and sells to wholesale clients across the country.
“We liked this business because it had both the retail and the manufacturing side of it,” Guptill says.
While the company originally focused on making and selling candlesticks, baby cups, and pitchers, pots, bowls, the company is now best known for its unique ornaments. Up until 2009, the Guptills sent ornaments to adorn the NH tree displayed on the Esplanade in Washington, D.C. Now, the company creates a “Washington Ornament,” that it sends each year to the President, NH’s congressional delegation, and the governor.
Closer to home, Hampshire Pewter creates about 20 custom ornaments each year for local organizations, churches, and historical societies. Guptill oversees the creative process for all designs, including her most recent one: a purple finch sitting on a lilac.
“I’m not an artist by any stretch,” she says. “I’ll even hand draw it, which comes out horrible. I’ll take some pictures and kind of cut and paste them together, so they [the artists] get the idea [of what] I’m looking for.”
The Guptills remain true to old-world craftsmanship, hand-pouring pewter into bronze molds to create traditional hollowware, such as mugs.
“It’s definitely an art, a technique, because they have to tip the molds just right as you pour in so you’re not getting any air bubbles,” she says.
Although the company honors past traditions, it continues to look for ways to appeal to younger generations. In 2019, Hampshire Pewter purchased Lindsay Claire Designs, a Canadian pewter company that once made charms for Longaberger baskets.
“Buying Lindsay Claire helped us a lot because it gave us a lot of different options in that same price point,” she says.
Kathy says she continues to find inspiration in the connections she makes with customers. She fondly recalls one who ordered small pewter bridal bells for a pandemic-era wedding. “They used those bells as the couple was leaving the church—everybody kind of spread out and was ringing the bells as they left. They even sent me pictures. It just made their day special during a really trying time.”
While Kathy and Harold’s children have pursued other career paths, she says she has no plans to retire soon. “I’ve got to be around [here] for at least another nine to 10 years,” she says. “I started this ‘Night Before Christmas’ series—it’s going to be about 14 ornaments. This year was Number 5, so I’ve got a long way to go.”
