When CDLLife reader and fellow truck driver, Kelly Houle isn’t rolling down the interstate, he’s making hand-stamped jewelry and garden art for his shop, Whispering Metalworks.
Some of the most popular items at Whispering Metalworks are trucking related! His line of necklaces make the perfect gift for a trucker’s wife, girlfriend, fiancée, daughter, mother, or sister!
Whispering Metalworks necklaces are made to order (he takes custom requests!), and include beautiful Swarovski Crystal Elements ™ beads (in the color of your choice), a semi truck charm, and hand-hammered customizable plated disks!
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“We are a truckin’ family, so this necklace is close to our heart! We have other truckers wife necklaces available in our shop using other fonts and designs, and are always happy to set up a custom order.
Your necklace is made to order, and is handcrafted in like style and fashion to the photos in this listing. Like a snowflake, no two are ever exactly alike, and stamping depth and placement may vary ever so slightly with each piece. We do not use a template, and each letter and character is hand-stamped one by one.
This is what makes them unique… and truly made from the heart!”
Kelly started driving and got his CDL as soon as he was of a legal age! He got his first driving job as a promotion after being a shop worker at a small construction company where he worked on and repaired trucks and equipment. As soon as he got his CDL, he started driving a lowboy and a belly dump, and has been driving one way or another ever since.
He’s worked everything from OTR long haul to a centralized West Coast route, and he’s hauled a myriad of goods ranging from refrigerated and dry products to motorcycles and heavy haul. He currently runs a curtain van in the Northwest through Oregon, Washington, and Idaho moving lumber and building goods. – Trucking is all he’s known, and it will forever be a part of his life!
He’s always been crafty, dabbling with woodworking, HO Scale railroad, 1/25th scale models, and auto metal fabricating. A few years ago, he began to delve into the world of artistic metal-working. His first project being a wind chime made from old silver spoons, glass beads, and a teapot. He realized that he’d found his passion, began experimenting with different pieces, and giving his metal work as gifts to friends and family members.
Eventually he started to expand from wind chimes, and incorporated jewelry in a wide range of styles, but all still with the same metal working theme. He’s now expanded to hand-stamping, and has been selling his goods online and at occasional craft shows ever since.
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“One day, as I was wandering around a truck stop market, I noticed that something BIG was missing – and that was handcrafted gifts from right here in the USA that could be sent home that offered a personal touch. Yes, there were lots of manufactured items made of plastic, but nothing truly made from the heart and individualized. This was the defining moment when my “just for truckers” jewelry was born. Wording such as “Proud To Be A Truckers Wife,” “My Heart Belongs To A Trucker,” “Bring Him Home Safe,” and “A Trucker Hauled My Heart Away” all became popular selling items in my shop along with so many others.
Each is handmade to order and can be customized with their special someone’s name – these jewelry pieces are a wonderful way of allowing loved ones feel a bit closer, even when so many miles apart. And not just for women or wives – I regularly have significant others have me custom make items to be hung in the truck as a little reminder of home. I think that when people discover that these are made by a truck driver right here in Central Oregon, it makes them even that much more special and meaningful. And in many ways, it brings me a bit closer to home myself. I find my work as an artist and a jeweler to be a great way to escape the daily stressors of being a driver – the traffic, the long hours, and the many miles away from home.
When I am creating, it takes me to another place – and it is very rewarding to know that I am very often helping to bring families together. Although once a truck driver, always a truck driver at heart, these old bones are getting tired, and I hope to one day be able to get off the road and focus 100% of my time on my handicraft business. Until then, I will keep on truckin’ … one mile at a time.”
All of Kelly’s jewelry is handmade in Redmond, Oregon, and they make for a perfect trinket to send home from out on the road!
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