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This old van was transformed into a beautiful conference table. Photos: Joel Hester
A client brought him a small metal beer sign that he wanted to use as a top for a coffee table. Joel, who lives in Dallas, Texas, knew a little something about making furniture from unexpected materials; he was already welding steel into custom bed frames.
So he made the coffee table -- and then got an idea. Why not start a business? He's since developed a passion for making custom furniture out of old cars. He calls it The Weld House.
But why cars? Well, when he received the client's beer sign, he wondered how he could make it work since the sign wasn't large enough to wrap the top of the table for a smooth, seamless surface. So, after over a month of struggling with the process, Joel ended up wandering through a junk yard looking for scrap metal that might work with the beer sign.
Can you believe these beautiful tables were once left to rot away in a junkyard? Photos: Joel Hester
/>"I turned a corner and saw an old Cadillac," he says. "Its large trunk was the coolest mixture of color and patterns. I knew i could skin the metal off the structure of the trunk and use it to wrap the top of the table." Joel instantly forgot about the beer sign and called his client proposing a new, different idea of how to create the table: an old car!
Luckily, his client liked the idea. So Joel took the idea and ran with it, developing a brand new niche for his business.
Joel's tables are made from automotive metal that's at least 20 years old. Photos: Joel Hester
He's not interested in experimenting with other mediums. Says Joel: "I don't see this ever getting old."
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
That is cool! Ingenious. Junk into uesfulness and income, now that works.
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