Most-Used Tools: A welding hood, oxy-acetylene torch and pliers
Website: Etsy.com/Shop/BombshellWorkshop
After her son was born in December 2016, Keller resident Elisha Van Deventer decided to take up metalworking, almost immediately working on the concept of metal florals.
“I cut every design by hand with sheet metal shears and 26 gauge sheet metal. Each layer was brazed and affixed to a metal rod,” says Elisha, who works full-time for the city of Arlington. “I was learning a brand new skill, and it was exhilarating.”
After two years of making custom orders for friends and co-workers, Elisha officially opened Bombshell Works in 2019. While she can make almost anything, metal florals are Elisha’s bread and butter.
“I really enjoy gardening, and the design and construction of florals almost seems innate,” Elisha says. “My tagline for Bombshell Works is ‘Your Metal Florist.’ I want my clients to know that I can create nearly any custom bouquet to nearly any scale.”
With customers from all around the country and a handful from Europe, Elisha says her best-selling pieces come from her steel magnolia series.
“It quite literally is steel molded and welded in the form of a magnolia flower,” Elisha says. “Most of my customers opt for the traditionally painted creamy-white with green leaves, but my favorite version is the tempered blued steel that I clear coat.”
With every order she fills, Elisha falls more in love with her craft.
“I love metalworking for the endless options it affords me in the creative process,” Elisha says. “I get to play with different metals — not just steel, but copper and brass.”