Today we’d like to introduce you to Briana Huhn.
Hi Briana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It’s hard to portray just how exciting my story is when I try and put it into words. I spent most of my childhood alongside my dad in his shop. The man could fix anything, I swear. So tools and manual labor were nothing new to me. When I was 20 years old, I was working reception at a hotel, questioning remaining in customer service work, and a guest had challenged me to show up to their job site. Naturally, I won’t back down from a challenge, so I borrowed a pair of work boots and showed up on site. It started with general labor, then heavy equipment, then crane operating, and one day they needed something welded. I knew what welding was, but had never tried it myself.
My foreman gave me some scraps and some welding rod and told me to practice. The amount of power I felt from melting metal together was indescribable. It made me crave more. I spent hours in my dad’s shop practicing until I felt comfortable to apply for a full-time job doing that. I started out as a production welder making aluminum boat lifts, docks, pontoon lifts, etc. In the 12 years since my first arc, I have worked across numerous industries, trying to soak up every bit of knowledge. I worked many late nights doing side jobs out of my dad’s shop just to gain more experience. Just when I thought I had learned enough, I was asked to help restore a truck. Queue new interest! Custom automotive fabrication was a whole new world, but I dove in head first. My love for it quickly developed from taking part in 3 SEMA builds. I spent time bouncing around multiple shops helping out on restorations. I have welded on various items all across the country! In 2017, I joined the board of a nonprofit in MN, Big Ideas USA, to help with their mission of introducing young minds to the world of trades. I quickly learned that the only thing I enjoyed more than welding, was sharing the trade with others.
In 2020, I was chosen to participate in a competition for fabricators on a MotorTrend channel TV series called “Bitchin Bootcamp” and also to be part of the team for a build on the reboot of Discovery’s “Monster Garage”. Stemming from that came a job opportunity outside of Austin, TX. I took the risk and made the move in June of 2021. While I loved the job I moved down for, I wanted more, I wanted to spend more time teaching others. I became Trades Director of a youth nonprofit in Boerne, TX, Girl with Grit, and teach various trades classes in that community as well. I had the opportunity to open my own fabrication shop in Dripping Springs, and took yet another risk! In my own shop, Huhney Bee Fabrication, I work on fabrication projects of all types, automotive, landscaping, commissioned art, etc, there are no limits to what I’ll take on. Aside from random projects, I teach multiple welding processes to both youth and adults. My end game for Huhney Bee Fabrication is to not only build unique, one off pieces for customers, but to help expose people of all ages to the world of welding and metal work.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t really believe that anyone has a truly smooth road, everyone faces some type of struggle, whether internal or external. In the moment, it’s easy to peg any hindrance as a struggle, but I think it helps you realize how resilient you can be if you try. One of the things I have dealt with that can be viewed as a struggle would be raising a child on my own. I had my daughter at a very young age, so struggling to raise myself while simultaneously raising her, on top of navigating my passion in the welding industry has been a challenge. My main struggles are internal battles, finding ways to fuel my fire to keep at it. Knowing that my adventure isn’t done and I haven’t peaked keeps me motivated.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In summary, my line of work is metal fabrication, but it’s a very wide range within that category. I do work in the custom automotive industry, metal landscape fixtures, residential and commercial interiors, to name a few. I wouldn’t say I specialize in one thing over another. If you want something built out of metal, I’m up for the challenge.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I hope to be pumping out random wild projects for customers, and also running multiple welding classes a week out of my shop.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huhney_bee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huhneybeefabrication
