Caleb Chant from River Country Creations loves nothing better than designing and creating the perfect piece of rusty artwork for your garden, shed wall or property entry. Photo: Supplied.
Who are you and what is your business? My name is Caleb Chant and I run a small family-owned laser cutting business, mostly cutting/making rusty garden art and outside items.
Where did you first begin/what was the inspiration? I first started off with a Snapmaker 3-in-1 3D printer, diode laser module and CNC module.
I started playing with the 3D printing side of it and moved onto the laser. I engraved a few pieces of MDF and then started cutting paper from a few free files; this then inspired me to start designing some of my own.
From the 125 mm x 125 mm cutting area it grew to purchasing a 1500 mm x 3000 mm cutting area capable of cutting up to 3 mm mild steel and 20 mm MDF plus many other materials.
What do you produce? We produce anything rusty from small garden items, garden wall art, garden sculptures, shed signs, 3D game heads, animal stands (dogs, chooks, etc), property signs and we will give any custom order a go; if we think we can do it we will try.
What do you sell that makes a great gift? All of our products are great gifts! But I’d say that our dog silhouettes on stands are probably the most personal, with lots of comments from customers saying when purchased that it looks just like their old dog and how great it will be in the garden or near the front door to further remember them by.
Our mozzie coil holders are also a very popular gift, with lots of different designs; most have been made from customers asking can you make ‘this’ or ‘that’ into a mozzie coil holder.
What is your favourite thing to make? While I enjoy making all of my items, it would be a toss-up between the 3D game heads and custom orders. I really enjoy getting a custom order and making their request to how they want it to look.
What would you make if you could do anything? Wow, the options are endless with this question! Probably turn some of my game heads into full size animals for the garden but the cost of material and the weight of the items are definite factors why it hasn’t happened yet.
Where can we buy your products? Direct from me (email [email protected]), phone/text 0409 113 629 or Messenger on Facebook. We are still working on our online store; there are some products there, but everything needs updating. The Self Made Market Store at Lavington Plaza in Albury and Hennessy Home and Garden in Rutherglen also stock some of our items. You can also find us at some local markets.
How would you promote the Riverina to someone thinking about visiting? It’s got everything from the Murray River, Lake Hume, the local wine region to the snow that’s not too far away and let’s not forget about all the fantastic local Sunday markets.
What is the coolest local/handcrafted thing you’ve ever bought? I’d say sunglasses from Nikki.P Woodwear for my wife; they help her see things my way; or the many earrings for my daughters from Corrie at Blue Chai.
Where’s your favourite place for a cuppa? At home, sitting in front of the computer while trying to get a design to work.
Where’s your favourite place/tourism attraction in the region? The Lake Hume Dam wall; there’s just something about all of that water spiling from the outlets that is just mesmerising.
Who is another local producer you admire and why? Bec and Sean Hay who run the Selfmade store at Lavington Plaza plus all of the local markets that they run. While they may not produce the items, they certainly give all of us makers somewhere to display and sell our items every day of the week no matter what the weather is doing.
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