When Alisa Toninato entered the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design as a student, she probably never dreamed she’d come to own a cookware company.
The speaker at the March 17 Waunakee Rotary meeting, Alisa described her evolution from a fine arts sculpture student to the owner of American Skillet, a company that manufactures cast iron skillets in the shape of each of the United States to be sold at 130 stores, along with Amazon.
Alisa and her family recently bought a farmette just west of Hwy. 19, where she also operates her other business, FeLion Studios. Just out of art school, she was working with iron and said her art started out with engagement with people through pieces she called kinetic and performative in nature. Around 2001-02, she noticed an eBay trend of people selling perogies with images on them that looked like Jesus, upwards of $3,000, and that sparked an idea.
She realized she could do the same by crafting a waffle maker to produce the image of Jesus. She got very involved in the foundry process and began to connect with other artists around the Midwest with similar interests, including those who created their own foundries to pour iron.
She attended a residency in Minneapolis at a former brewing company and learned that others created portable foundries crafted from furnaces.
Eventually, Alisa decided to make her own furnace foundry, and moved by her fellow Midwesterners who shared a passion, she began making frying pans in the shape of Midwestern states. At a gallery show in Milwaukee, she made pancakes with her Wisconsin skillet and when serving, placed a berry on the area of the state-shaped pancake in the attendee’s hometown. She then realized the cookware was being utilized as she intended her artwork to be: It encouraged people to connect and engage.
As part of a competition, Alisa spent two months finishing a piece with pans in the shape of all 50 states that debuted at ArtPrize. She then had an Etsy store, as well.
When the Martha Steward folks noticed her work, they invited her to travel to New York, and she was then invited back to receive one of 10 American Made awards. Alisa’s piece of all 50 cast iron frying pans together representing the United States was used for the Martha Steward project. From there, Alisa began to work with a Wisconsin manufacturer and now has 9 products sold at 130 stores.
Guests: Alisa Toninato and daughter, speaker.
Visiting Rotarians: None.
Other news:
-The club members are invited to bring shampoo and other bath products, along with gas and grocery gift cards, to the next three meetings, President Ross Maurer told the club.
-St. John’s Peacemakers thanked the club for its $500 donation.
-The April 9 Easter Egg hunt is bringing together many partnerships, Phil Willems said.
Birthdays: March 26, Ken Ballweg; March 29, Scott Biba.
Anniversaries: None.
Greeters: March 24, Kathy Cefalu and Scott Cochems; March 31, Tegan Counihan and John Cullen.
