Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Orahoske.
Hi Abby, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I think I’ve always had that creative side in me, even when I was really young. When I was a kid, my dad and his friends were always working on different projects around our old house. I’d go around picking up whatever scraps they had left over and start hammering pieces together until I thought I made something.
Looking back now, most of the stuff I made probably looked like shit, but at the time I was so proud of it. I didn’t care what anybody else thought it looked like. In my head, I had taken a pile of scraps and turned it into something.
It’s funny looking back on that now because, in a way, I’m still doing the exact same thing. I’m still picking up pieces of metal or materials that somebody else might look at as junk and figuring out what I can turn them into.
I originally started out doing mostly woodworking, building furniture and other custom pieces. Eventually, I decided I wanted to learn how to weld—not because I had some big business plan for it, but simply because I wanted to learn something new and see what I could create.
Once I started welding, everything kind of took off from there. I fell in love with taking old, forgotten pieces of metal—horseshoes, silverware, tools, scrap, and things most people would probably throw away—and turning them into something completely different.
What started as me just learning another skill eventually became a huge part of my business, Rustic Lumber and Ironworks. Social media has played a big part in that growth too. I started sharing the things I was building, and over time more and more people started following along. Currently I’m at 113,136 followers on Facebook. It’s been pretty surreal seeing people from all over enjoy my work, reach out wanting to buy pieces, or ask me to create something meaningful for them.
I’ve also had a lot of opportunities come my way because of it. I’ve had complete strangers take a chance on me and trust me to bring their ideas to life, and then fall in love with the finished piece. That kind of support has opened doors for me that I never expected when I first started doing this.
Some of my favorite projects have actually been the ones that mean something personally to the customer. I’ve had people cry, hug me, and tell me how much a piece means to them. Those moments changed the way I look at what I do. It’s not always just a piece of scrap metal or wood anymore—it can become something someone keeps for the rest of their life.
Today, I’m still doing what I’ve always loved: building things, experimenting, and trying ideas that might sound a little crazy at first. I never really expected it to grow into what it has, and I’m still figuring out where it’s going. That’s probably my favorite part—I genuinely don’t know what I’ll be building next.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. I started this business from the ground up, and there were a lot of late nights getting it to where it is today. There’s been blood, sweat, and tears put into this. Being a business owner is hard, especially when you’re making a living from something creative, because there can be a lot of uncertainty.
There have been times when work wasn’t coming in, and when you work for yourself, no work means no money. At the same time, one of the biggest things I’ve learned about business is that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. You’re buying tools, materials, equipment, and investing back into the business without always knowing exactly when that money is going to come back. I definitely had moments where I doubted myself and wondered if I was going to fail in the business world.
Some weeks are really great—you’re busy, orders are coming in, and you’re making good money. Then the next week can be completely different. I always joke that one week you’re eating steak and the next week you’re eating ramen. I’ve had to learn not to let those slow weeks convince me that I’m failing and not to let the really good weeks make me think everything will always be easy.
One thing that has helped keep me going through all of those ups and downs is the people around me. My grandparents, my mom and dad, my brother, my girlfriend, and my friends have all rooted for me and believed in what I was doing. There were definitely times when things were hard or I questioned whether I could really make this work, and having people in my corner made me not want to quit. I didn’t want to let them down, but more than that, their belief in me helped remind me why I needed to keep believing in myself too. I knew I had to keep pushing, so I did.
Another challenge has been learning how to balance everything as the business has grown. It’s not just about making art anymore. I’m answering messages, giving quotes, finding materials, keeping up with orders, posting on social media, shipping pieces, and trying to keep a lot of customers happy at the same time. When people are trusting you to make something special for them, you want every person to feel like their project matters.
Owning a business has a lot of ups and downs. I’ve made mistakes, had ideas that didn’t work, taken on too much at once, and learned plenty of things the hard way. But I think those struggles are also what have made me better at what I do.
Every year I learn a little more about the business side, the art side, and myself. Looking back at where I started compared to where I am now, I’m glad I kept going through the times when I wasn’t sure it would work out. I’m still learning as I go, and I don’t think that ever really stops when you work for yourself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The simplest way I can describe what I do is: I make people’s dreams come to life. Someone can come to me with an idea—sometimes it’s detailed, sometimes it’s nothing more than a picture or a thought in their head—and I figure out how to turn it into something real.
I work with both wood and metal, but I’ve become especially known for my creativity with scrap metal. I love looking at something that most people would consider junk and seeing what it could be. I make everything from sculptures and yard art to firepits, furniture and completely custom pieces. I don’t really like limiting myself to one specific type of work. If someone asks, “Do you think you could make this?” my answer is usually, “I can figure it out.”
What I’m most proud of is simply how far I’ve come. At the end of the day, I’m just one person. I didn’t have some huge team or a perfect roadmap showing me how to get here. I learned, made mistakes, kept creating, kept pushing forward and refused to give up. Seeing how many people now follow my work, support what I do and trust me to create something for them is something I’ll never take for granted.
I think what sets me apart is the passion behind it. This isn’t just a job to me. I genuinely love creating. I get excited about an idea, I obsess over the details, and I want the person receiving it to be just as excited about it as I was making it. There’s a piece of me in everything I build.
If there’s one thing this journey has taught me, it’s to never give up on something you believe in. You never know how far one idea, one skill, or one decision to keep going can take you.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think over the next 5–10 years, social media is going to continue changing the way artists and makers make a living.
For my own business, I see the biggest change being growth. Right now, I wear pretty much every hat. I’m the artist, welder, woodworker, photographer, marketing person, customer service, shipping department—you name it.
Eventually, I’d like to have employees who can take some of those responsibilities off my plate. I could see having someone dedicated to marketing, photography and advertising, as well as people handling packaging and shipping. Not because I want to step away from the business, but because I want to spend more time doing the part of the business I love most: being in the shop and creating.
I also think people are going to continue valuing things that are handmade, unique and have a story behind them. We live in a world where almost anything can be mass-produced, so there’s something special about owning something that was actually made by a person and might be the only one like it in the world.
My goal is to grow the business without losing that. I want Rustic Lumber and Ironworks to become bigger, but I never want it to become a factory. I still want the creativity, passion and handmade aspect to be at the center of everything we do.
Pricing:
- If you’re worried I won’t have something in your budget, you’re wrong! I sell things from $5 – $5,000. I want everyone to be able to enjoy my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.Rusticlumberworks.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbTheBuilder
