Jaime Holm began Tinker Tin with an $800 vintage camper and an idea to rent out unusual trailers. At the time, she was working at Trader Joe’s, taking calls about her side hustle between stocking bananas. More than a decade later, the Their first camper cost $800.
Tinker Tin soon began renting vintage trailers to Hollywood studios for films and commercials. It also created branded trailers for cosmetic companies such as LUSH and Pacifica, along with promotional projects for Facebook, Pepsi, Williams Sonoma and New Belgium, according to an Entrepreneur report.
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Clients initially wanted retail displays to accompany the trailers. Eventually, they began ordering displays without the trailers, and the work expanded from individual products to designing and building entire retail stores.
Jaime Holm and Matt Hannula (Photo: Tinker Tin)
She Left Trader Joe’s to Focus on Her Side Hustle
Holm continued working at Trader Joe’s as Tinker Tin attracted more inquiries. Eventually, the growing workload prompted her to leave her job and concentrate on the business full-time.
The company earned a couple hundred thousand dollars in its first year, Holm told Entrepreneur in a May 2025 interview. The income was enough to support her family, earlier than she had expected.
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Its projects also included the Manson family trailers featured in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.
Her Brother Helped Turn It Into a $20 Million Company
Holm said the company kept a small team for too long, contributing to burnout. She later brought her brother into the business, allowing her to focus on design while he concentrated on operations and growth.
Hannula joined Tinker Tin as an owner and CEO in 2018. The company had generated $650,000 in revenue the previous year. He introduced lean manufacturing principles to streamline operations as the business expanded, as per the report.
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