Sewing With Fire: Sparks Fly Studio Welds Intentional, Functional Art

Photos courtesy of Tim Navin

Growing up, Tim Navin watched his father meticulously create heirlooms in his woodshop, hand-making all the furniture in their home, carving the family dining room table from repurposed oak legs and leftover scraps from Doug Jones Saw Mill.

These tasteful, subtle designs left a mark on Navin, spurring him to found Fruita’s Sparks Fly Studio in a one-car garage in 2020. The welding artist and Fruita native carries his dad’s love for creating purposeful pieces and crafting functional art through custom metal fabrication. His industrial-style furniture tests the limits as to what can be done when sewing with fire.

“Art and creating, as cliché as it sounds, has been a passion since I can remember,” Navin says. “I grew up loving to draw, paint and work with any tools I was allowed, or not allowed, to get my hands on.”

Raised on a farm north of town and graduating high school in 2000, Navin spent a few years on the Front Range before returning to his first love, Fruita. He now has a 10-year-old daughter and lives near his parents and his sister and her family.

Navin, 40, recalls picking up a welder out of necessity, nabbing a job at a local welding shop 15 years ago to help fund an expensive Jeep hobby. Side projects here and there have kept his creative spark alive, maintaining the someday dream of creating and pursuing his longtime artistic passions. One thing has stuck throughout the years: His father’s notion that pride comes from something built versus something bought.

“Thankfully, it has never left me, and I feel more comfortable in my own skin than ever, so the timing is turning out to be nothing short of magic for me,” Navin shares.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he took a long look at his own mental health, what it takes to raise a daughter and what he needed to allow his creativity to crack wide open. Sparks Fly Studio launched in the fall of 2020, and at the start of 2022, Navin partnered with fellow tradesman Lyle Inman and moved into a 4,200-square-foot space along Fruita’s main drag.

Sparks Fly tackles projects ranging from custom metal fabrication to repurposed art design. Local realtor and entrepreneur Jen Taylor contracted the studio to transform 10 vintage campers into riverfront glamping pods along with functional art and décor for the multi-million-dollar El Jet’s Cantina + Sky Outpost development in Grand Junction.

Sparks Fly Studio is gaining a reputation for intentional design. “I want people to touch my art and ponder with a smile how it was made,” Navin adds. The business is still relatively new, and they’re working to get the name out. The studio works with a lot of new homeowners and remodel clients, creating custom handrails and personalized touches. One project involved adding moveable shelves and potholders to create an ever-changing Zen garden plant wall in a split-level entryway.

Navin finds inspiration from being present in nature. A close encounter with a bald eagle while paddle boarding prompted a sculpture currently in the works. “If something makes me smile, that is when the wheels start turning,” he says. “And sometimes, it just goes back to the ‘built not bought’ mindset. Then, inspiration transitions to challenge. That has truly been the most rewarding part of working for myself — the creative freedom to just let it flow.”

One project in particular will stay with Navin forever. He had installed a handrail on a front porch for a longtime Fruita resident in her 90s. She was delighted to be out on her sunny porch again and expressed gratitude with an afternoon of iced tea and cookies.

“We sat there talking for the rest of the day,” he recalls. “I can’t think of a better compliment than gaining a grandma.”

Originally published in the Summer 2022 issue of Spoke+Blossom.