PRINCETON — Waylon has had a rough time. But his owners are very supportive, and from their efforts on his behalf have developed Pointer Products, which has been selling things from jams and candles to welded furniture.
Waylon, a 15-month-old German shorthaired pointer, is the mascot of the business. His illness pushed Adam and Samantha Montalto to start their business, which also donates to a charitable foundation.
“We got started in early July 2023,” Samantha Montalto said. “Our dog Waylon was diagnosed with Addison’s disease in June, and the vet bills quickly started to build up. In an attempt to help cover the extra costs, we started this business so we could continue to spend time together outside of our day jobs but still create income.
“We experimented with making jam and candles and decided that this was what we wanted to jump into,” she said.
“As we realized how expensive it can be to have a dog with Addison’s disease, or any medical issue for that matter, we decided to look into helping other families struggling to cover vet costs. As a result, we donate a portion of our proceeds to a foundation called CARES — Canine Addison’s Resources & Education — which is set up to help those families,” Montalto added.
CARES’ website is https://canineaddisons.org/.
Setting up at the Sterling Street Market in the center of Sterling on many Saturdays, Pointer Products offers several items.
“We offer candles, jam and furniture at the moment,” Montalto said. “We make them all at home. We make the jam and candles together, and although we collaborate on the furniture designs, Adam is more of a furniture specialist.”
In keeping with the many vendors at Sterling Street Market, Pointer Products focuses on local.
“We do our best to use local, in-season ingredients. For example, we use lots of raspberries and blueberries from our own berry patches. We do, however, make sure everything we use is organic, so even if not every ingredient can be sourced locally at that time, each ingredient in our jams is organic, and that will never change.
“As for the candles, we use all-natural soy wax and fragrance oils. We want to make sure the candle produces a clean burn.”
The candles come in 10 scents: Lavender, beachwood, citrus, citronella, wildflower, clean cotton, pine, cinnamon, apple pie, and pumpkin spice. Jams are available in four flavors: raspberry, blackberry, blueberry and strawberry. Fall flavors are in the works.
Customer favorites
“The raspberry jam seems to be a fan favorite. But we also love it when people come out just to talk to us about their dogs and their stories. It is awesome to be able to connect with people in our community through more than just a transaction,” Montalto said.
“The seats and boot racks were an interest of Adam’s prior to setting up this business. Adam grew up constantly fixing and building things, so he decided to try his hand at making furniture, which turned out to be a success,” she said.
“He definitely has a love for welding, so the barstools and boot racks are all assembled that way. His inspiration has come from everyday things that lie around waiting to either collect dust or eventually be thrown out. He is big on the idea of repurposing; hence the barstools being made of chain and tractor seats, while the boot racks are made of old horseshoes.
“We think the combination of products is a great reflection of our relationship. There is plenty of balance. We both enjoy the creative aspect with the furniture designs, marketing strategies, brand logos, sticker designs, and future product development,” Montalto said.
“Although this business is very much us creating things together, it is cool that he gets to focus his energy on fabricating while I get to enjoy candle and jam making.” Montalto said. “We appreciate being able to work together in all aspects of this business to create products that allow us to provide for Waylon, as well as work toward future aspirations.”
They plan to bring their items to other markets.
“We have yet to sell at other markets, but we love Sterling Street Market, Jane (Morgan, who manages the market) does a fantastic job.”
They are set to be a vendor for Princeton’s town fair on Sept. 30 at Krashes Field. They are also signed up to be a vendor at Wachusett Mountain’s Applefest on their second weekend, Oct. 21 and 22.
“This is our ‘hobby business,’ although we take it seriously, as we spend pretty much all of our free time occupied by this endeavor. We both do have day jobs,” Montalto said.
Adam is owner-operator of Commonwealth Crane Service, and Samantha is in her first year of a master’s Physician Assistant Studies program. She also works as a critical care technician in the ICU of a local hospital.
“We are very fortunate to have these opportunities while being able to support our boy, Waylon.” Montalto said. “We plan on continuing this business as long as possible. We both enjoy our time making these products, getting to share our work with everyone, and being able to see Waylon (as well as other dogs) benefit.”
“Waylon is our life. He spends his days running around our back fields chasing birds and swimming in the pool. He also attends school at least once a week so he can socialize with other pups.”
However, in early June, Waylon was sleeping all day, uninterested in eating or drinking and hiding under the bed.
“This was highly abnormal for him. We brought him to the vet for blood work, which revealed he was in renal failure. We brought him straight to the emergency vet, where he had more bloodwork done and had to stay overnight.”
The vets diagnosed Waylon with Addison’s. The dog now needs monthly injections and daily medication to regulate his hormones and organ function.
“We are very lucky to have caught it when we did. Waylon is again a happy boy running about,” Montalto said.
