Article by Jeannette Huelseman

Owner Chris Schatzle brings metal to life: from a cold, hard slab to fluid, flowing visions of beauty. What inspires Schatzle is “Seeing things materialize from an idea to a final product.”

Aside from the artistic aspect of metalwork, Schatzle shares his thoughts on some of the other positive aspects of their work, “It is really rewarding to see people come back and show their appreciation with referrals. We have met a lot of great people and have been blessed to support our veterans, law enforcement, fire departments, and our school sports programs. However, the greatest moments have been getting involved in projects like the memorial bench we made for the late Kelly Leffingwell (Pizza Pete) and the Franklin County 4H Goat and Sheep pens we are currently producing.”

Owl Hollow Metalworks is a family owned and operated business. “My wife and children help when demand is high, and it is nice to teach my children business and trade skills,” said Schatzle. Its inspiring name was derived when the family purchased their farm and found that it was located at the mouth of Owl Hollow. Taking that name for their farm in 1999, they later made the decision to use it for their business name in 2017.

Schatzle shares, his yearnings for metalwork came early in life, “My dad was a welder-fabricator, so I’ve been around metal working most of my life. After working in the industry of designing and building custom machines for 20+ years, I saw a need to make custom parts. I also liked the custom metal art that is advertised elsewhere but wanted to create my own designs.” Sharing his dreams with family enabled him to turn dream to reality with a no interest loan to purchase a plasma cutter.

When asked to describe the difference between the services he offers, Schatzle explains, “We strive to offer a better custom design than you can get from other plasma cutting companies. There are a lot of online retailers selling a lot of the same things and you may not get the level of customization that you deserve. Plasma cutting is a process that uses an electrical arc and a compressed air jet to cut through metal like a saw cutting through wood. CNC is computer control to guide the cutting torch.  I make the designs on the computer with a graphic arts program. The design is loaded into the plasma table to cut the part. The parts are then cleaned up and prepared for finishing. Welding is joining pieces of metal with an electrical arc. Light fabrication includes bending metal, drilling, and tapping threaded holes, and some assembly of parts. We can cut steel, stainless, and aluminum, up to 5 foot by 10 foot and up to 1 inch thick.”

Owl Hollow Metalworks caters to both you as a homeowner or you as a business owner. Homeowners often seek a range of products to spruce up their homes and gardens with custom made home decor, hangers, memorials, furniture parts and custom farm parts and hard to find replacement parts. Business owners step up their image with business signs, logos, hangers, brackets, and parts for repairs to name a few. Do not forget, you can get that one-of-a-kind gift for special occasions or for honoring that quality employee.

Some of the more popular items that customers order are small ornaments, an Indiana Home wall-hanger, monograms, and decorative signs with family names are popular. “Since we create our own designs, we have helped our customers create some unique pieces that are not available everywhere. We can put your name on just about anything. Hands down our biggest seller has been our Welcome and Family signs that have a monogram letter in the middle and a decorative scroll on each side. This is the first item we designed and no one else makes this design. We were glad to see it become popular,” said Schatzle.

When asked about the impact Covid-19 has had on their business, “Since we work directly with customers online or by phone and usually only see them when they pick up their orders, there has not been a huge downturn to our business. The largest setback we faced was in 2020 with the cancellation of all the craft shows where we sell larger quantities and meet new customers,” said Schatzle.

Owl Hollow Metalworks has plans for expansion, which includes a larger shop, showroom, and office space. They plan to include employees and have developed a close business relationship and friendship with Smith Welding & Repairs.

Owl Hollow Metalworks’ shop is open for customers by appointment. They have items on hand for custom ordering ideas along with a large photo library of finished pieces and previous projects. Also, they can be visited at Canal Days in Metamora, Indiana. “We are fortunate enough to have friends that own a business in Metamora. For the Canal Days event, they let us set up on the outside of their cabin, Buttons and Bows, located in the far Southwest corner of the Duck Creek area near the restrooms and the Pennington Farm parking lot,” said Schatzle.