NEWS photos Stuart Davis NORTH SHORE inventor Gordon Breauchelle and his business partner Millie Siemens stand amidst the cluttered workshop in North Vancouver. The invention under wraps will be a secret until Breauchelle and Siemens receive a patent for it. Set your sails on Sea Mates where for 12 years been serving GREAT seafood Fresh Water ~. we've ape SPECIAL °1f de pee Pons : i * ~~ a ea LUNCH ‘TUES-FR! / DINNER TUES-SUN 3 M. f 11:00 am-2:30 pm / 5:00 pm-10:00 pm ): 4 a - a e3 Sa Seafood Restaurant 998 Marine Dr. N. Vancouver 980-1213 43 - Wednesday, April !, 1987 - North Shore News PROFESSION NEEDS SECRECY NV inventor keeps under “| BELIEVE there is a solu- tion to everything,’’ says local inventor Gordon Breauchelle. By JUSTINE HUNTER Contributing Writer But sitting in his workshop with tarps hanging over his most recent projects, the North Vancouver man adds: ‘‘This is a cut-throat world.’’ Until his inventions have made it through the often-slow patenting process, no outsider is going to look at his creations. The originator of the pinball machine, for example, showed his new toy to a friend, and it was his friend who became the millionaire, said Breauchelle. “Ideas are picked up through innocent conversations,’’ he cau- tions — never mind nosey reporters. Breauchelle works in a warehouse off Esplanade Street in North Vancouver, and his shop houses more tools than most stores. In his 73 years, he had been an electrician, a plumber, a machinist, a draftsman and a craftsman. ‘‘! don’t know what I haven't done.” He works on several projects at a time, sometimes leaving half- finished projects for some sudden Ke = John Bishop ALI. WORK DONE BY ACME ( PLATING & SILVER SHOP LTD. PLATING SPECIAL Have your precious antiques reconditioned RO by RSE 8A cect Oe ORs Re, 1598 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, B.C. ideas wraps inspiration, or extra cash, he ex- plains. Being an inventor is not an oc- cupation that can promise regular paycheques, so Breauchelle lives on his pension, while his partner, Millie Siemens, freelances as an accountant for her bread and but- ter. The patenting process is slow and expensive, Breauchelle said, and it can take: years and thou- sands of dollars for even a simple invention. His patenting agent is handling four items for him right now, and it may be another two years before he can pull the tarps off his creations. : “It’s difficult to discuss because we don’t want to divulge the char- acter of what we're doing,’’ says Siemens, who carefully fields ques- tions about their work. Breauchelle does display some of his carvings, in wood and acrylic, with clever backlighting that creates three-dimensional scenes in miniature. But the secrets under the covers don't involve carving, says Siemens. ‘‘They’re more mod- ern.” In the meantime, Breauchelle keeps busy, under company Ad- mire Enterprises, dealing with ““problems’’ from local manufac- turers. “They come to Gordie when they need something and can’t fig- ure it out,’’ Seimens said. APRIL SILVER SAVE 20% ¢ Resilvering, gold plating, rhodium plating. * Brass, nickel and copper plating. ¢ Repairing of all silver, brass and copper. ¢ Cleaning and polishing of sterling silver, silver plate, brass, copper and pewter. ¢ Retinning of copper pots. ® Bronzing of baby shoes. Pewellers Ltd. 988-4717 eh BR, To erent T