It all started with a tattered beer sign and the trunk of a Cadillac. Self-taught American artist and furniture maker, Joel Hester, was trying to help a client realize his dream of transforming a beer sign from his college days into a coffee table, but there wasn’t enough metal in the beer sign to complete the table. Hester headed to the junkyard where he found the old Cadillac that started it all.
“I was amazed at how great the colors were. I called him instantly and said I am not doing anything with your beer sign. I told him I found an amazing piece of metal that will cover his coffee table with a seamless piece of metal and has fantastic colors,” he explains.
Since that first piece of classic car furniture, Hester has never looked back. His business has expanded to include stunning contemporary tables, armoires, beds and art sculptures all made from repurposed classic vehicles.
“Usually the size, shape and condition of the reclaimed material dictates what it would best be used as,” he explains of his artistic process.
Although he uses reclaimed vehicles, Hester is hesitant to label his work as green.
“Some of the metal I use is reclaimed or recycled but they would have been crushed and recycled anyway eventually. I have a very literal and honest perspective of what it means to be green,” he offers, explaining that some of the coatings and processes used to create his work are hard on the environment. Hester hopes to expand his line of furniture to include 100% eco-friendly renditions of his work.
In the meantime, he continues to scout for his favorite pieces of 1972 Chevy and GMC trucks. However, will he ever consider working with hybrid or electric vehicle scraps?
“Lets wait and see what 30 years of decaying in a field will do to the metal surfaces and take it from there,” he explains. “I like knowing that everything that I will ever build in my career is already laying out there in some field or scrap yard waiting on me to find it”.
Visit: http://joelhester.com/
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