This Husband-Wife Team Turns Old Car Parts into Decor You Can Buy
Unique gifts, furniture, and accessories made from automotive parts
Cars don’t have to die when they reach the end of the road; with ingenuity and artistry, they can live on in other forms. As mystical as that sounds, that’s what artists like Ben Harvey are doing with scrapped car parts that would otherwise be piling up in landfills.
As founder and craftsman of Ben’s Automotive Decor, Ben used his experience as an automotive technician and skills as an artist to start a business with his wife, Chloee. Together, their California-based company B.A.D. produces a variety of home accessories made from old car parts.
Bouncing Back: New uses for old car tires
A good review of B.A.D. products
Unlike other artist’s studios, Ben’s workshop looks more like a garage than a painting room. Every day, he saws, sands, and welds used car parts into unique, handmade accessories and home furnishings.
“The concept of repurposing items means a lot to us, and the elegance with which many automotive parts are designed gives us the opportunity to enjoy them as furniture,” says Ben of B.A.D. “Our products are adored by not only ‘gearheads’, but by most people that appreciate hand-crafted, custom design.”
Finding ways to repurpose old car parts is something that I’m passionate about too (and I’ve written about before), so I was thrilled to receive two B.A.D. products in the mail: a wine stopper and a bottle opener, each made from BMW motorcycle spark plugs. Both items were sturdily assembled and eye-catchingly unique. They’re clean enough for food-safe use but still retain their gritty, mechanical appearance. Both functioned well, and the cone-shaped stopper even unscrews from the spark plug shaft for easy cleaning.
Like every other piece B.A.D. sells, these barware accessories are handmade by securely welding the old and new components together to create a seamless new product. They make great additions to a man cave yet are distinguished enough to work in any room of the house. I’ve made both the bottle opener and the wine stopper part of my home bar arsenal and have received many jealous reactions when guests see them.
These are just two of the many items that B.A.D. produces. The full catalog includes larger items like pistons and timing covers refurbished into bodies for clocks, vintage gas cans and camshafts wired into lamps, and engine blocks modified to function as coffee tables or wine racks.
Ben’s creativity and quality craftsmanship show the limitless possibilities that car parts have when upcycled as other household objects. His products make fantastic gifts for car-lovers or décor to furnish your own home. They range in price from stocking stuffers to one-of-a-kind wedding gifts. If you don’t see anything in the catalog that strikes your fancy, B.A.D. accepts all kinds of custom orders if you have something particular in mind.
The News Wheel‘s verdict: Buy a handmade gift that supports a family-run business and keeps car parts out of landfills. Why not? It’s a win-win-win.
Purchase creations by Ben’s Automotive Decor directly from the company’s website or through its Amazon storefront.
Products provided for review by manufacturer.
Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a Hyundai Veloster Turbo (which recently replaced his 1995 Saturn SC-2). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing… See more articles by Aaron.