Today we’d like to introduce you to James Kelly.
Hi James, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I began as an auto mechanic who has always been artistic with drawing and building stuff. I always thought welding was cool but never tried it. One day I figured I’d give it a shot and try to weld something to put in my garden, I made an elephant from Some blown-up engine parts. Being self-taught I had no idea what I was doing and it eventually fell apart. A few months later my dog passed away and I wanted somewhere to put his collar on display, so I made a version of him from car parts. Then I made my other dog, then a bunch of dogs. Then I started making guns, flowers, motorcycles, and anything I could think of. People started telling me I should sell it, which I thought was crazy, but it all sold in a week! I started getting my name out there and taking custom orders, eventually becoming very busy. Eventually, I started making the piston figures I’m known most for abs things took off to the point I could do it full time if I really wanted to. I left the shop I worked at abs now have my very own shop, and I’m doing a few orders a week almost all special order.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It was not. There was a lot of time balancing work, family, and welding. It took a lot out of me, working a full-time job all day, then welding till all hours of the night, just to fall asleep and do it again the next day. The toughest thing was marketing, and working social media every day to try abs grow your name online. When covid hit, that was a big letdown because most of our products are sold at car shows, but when things were getting canceled left and right, I was in a panic that I wasn’t going to sell any of the stuff I made for months for car show seasons. Luckily my online presence had grown enough where I was able to eventually sell everything.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a sculpture artist. I take old, used car parts and weld them into unique, 100% original pieces of artwork. Anything you can think of I’ve probly made it or can do so. I am most known for my piston figures. Most people do piston carving or piston heads, but I’m one of the few who does full-body piston figures, and still makes them very affordable, which is a big deal to me as well. A lot of my followers are very wealthy and want these for their garage or man cave but a lot of them are just register gear heads who love the work. I like that everyone can afford my pieces. I’m most proud of where I’ve made it to. I went from welding in a small corner of my mom’s garage with all my equipment piled on top of each other, trying to weld as much as I can every day, to an 1800 sqft. Shop where I can weld a few days a week because I’m so busy with orders. The main thing that sets me apart from everyone is my speed. Most people take weeks of months to complete pieces, where I can do it in days, sometimes even hours. Being a flare rate mechanic for 15 years, I know how to work fast and efficient. When people place an order, I tell them 2-4 weeks OR LESS. I usually have it done 2-4 days. One time I did 7 piston figures in one day, and that’s unheard of.
How do you define success?
Happiness. Once you’re actually happy doing what you’re doing, and there’s no stress in it, your successful. If you’re stressed about timeframe or budget, or whether it, not an order is gonna come in, or if you can’t pay the bills, then you’re not happy. I always say quality of like over quantity of stuff. If you have a big house and all these cars’ abs cool things but you’re stressing to pay for it all, and stressing bills, you’re not happy. Once you can relax, and do what you’d like at the same time, your happy and your work will be better. Success is being happy and being able to enjoy the result of your work.
Contact Info:
- Email: Jwkelly2783@gmail.com
- Website: Streettrendzmetalart.com
- Instagram: @streettrendz_metal_art
- Facebook: Facebook.com/streettrendz_metal_art
- Twitter: @streettrendzmetalart
- Other: TikTok @streettrendz_metalart
