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Growing up in Los Gatos, California for Steven
Shaver playing tennis was more common that playing with tools.
Tool time would come later. He went on to study at San
Diego State University and graduated in 1991 with a B.A. degree
in International Business. Steven had plans to travel and was
fortunate to visit parts of Europe, Mexico and Machu Picchu;
however, he never imagined that the career direction he would
ultimately choose would take him down an artistic path of
creating functional art, furnishings and awards made from car
parts and other industrial artifacts. Today Steven’s
creations have been featured in major newspapers and magazines,
shown on television and made for some of the best companies and
CEO’s including Mercedes Benz USA, GM, Volkswagen, Honda, Red
Bull Racing, IBM, Wachovia Securities, Texas Instruments
and the San Francisco Environmental Dept.; and presented at
upscale events to celebrities such as Hugh Hefner, Jay Leno,
Nicolas Cage, Dwayne Wade, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and Cedric the
Entertainer.
Steven had fine art painters in the family and
his grandmother was an archeologist, but his
design interest was sparked by his fascination
with the futuristic and industrial movie sets. In 1992, Steven spent a year
in Los Angeles where he got an internship as an
assistant to the set decorator for the hit
horror B-movie, the “Unborn II” and also worked
for a celebrity furniture designer in sales and
operations. Steven continued his education by
completing design courses from the acclaimed
Industrial Design program at San Jose State
University. Yet for nearly the next decade to
follow, Steven would make
his living in property management as
a leasing agent and manager while designing in
his spare time.
A broken car visor would make history…In 1996 a
random trip to a Pick-n-Pull salvage yard in San
Jose, CA to replace his car's broken sun visor (he
should have saved it!) would put Steven on
course for what would become his creative
passion and business. At the salvage yard he saw
endless rows of abandoned old cars from the past
and marvelous looking parts half buried in the
dirt. The parts resembled something from the
“stars” not just the cars, with their
"celestial" forms and intricate engineering. This
was the "ah-ha" moment! Although he
knew very little about their automotive
functions, he could envision their “artistic” purposes. Steven
wanted to give new life to these beautiful
treasures that would otherwise rust in the
junkyard or be melted for scrap, so he took a
trunk load of parts home and began creating. He
furnished his bachelor pad with his “found art”
and started his business by learning about the
world of cars, showing his
creations at car shows, art festivals and a TV
auction. They were a big hit and he knew he was
on to something! Steven continued working in
property management for several more years while
his new business began to slowly grow (with the
advent of the Internet) and he finally took the
leap to quit his
9-5 job!
In 2005 Steven and his wife Ana moved back to
Los Angeles and his unique creations quickly became in
demand as trophies and gifts for celebrity
events such as the 2006 ESPN GM “King of Bling”
in Hollywood and the 2007 Beverly Hills Concours
D’ Elegance at the Playboy Mansion. Steven
and Ana got to attend the events and see A-list
celebrities awarded with his creations!
Steven plans to dream up bigger
ideas for transforming car parts and other
industrial parts and materials from our everyday
places into works of art and collaborate with other
artists and
innovative companies with shared interests in
ecodesign and the
beauty of cars and other industrial marvels. Above all, Steven finds great reward and
motivation in knowing that his art will give
lasting joy
to those who receive it.
"Cheers!"
Steven Shaver
Artist, Steven Shaver
Steven Shaver Designs
(310)542-5669
steven@stevenshaver.com
BUZZ
Magazines
This
Old House Magazine - 05/07
Special Events Magazine - 05/07
Makes and Models Magazine - 08/06
Image Magazine - Silicon Valley - 08/05
Home Lighting and Accessories - 08/05
GR8 Street Performance
Germany - 08/05
Sports Car Market - 04/05
Popular Mechanics - 08/04
Automobile
Magazine - 11/03
Good Guys Custom Rod and Association - 10/02
The Hollywood Reporter Corporate Gift Guide
- 08/01
Newspapers
The Daily Breeze - 04/17/07
UK Metro Newspaper, London - 01/23/06
The Silicon Valley Community Newspaper -
08/18/05
The San Jose Mercury News - 06/25/05
Las Vegas Review Journal - 04/02/04
The Chicago Tribune - 08/24/03
Daytona Beach News Journal - 08/23/03
The Minnesota Star Tribune - 08/17/03
The Detroit Daily News - 08/16/03
The Philadelphia Daily News - 07/29/03
The San Francisco Chronicle - 07/23/03
Television and Celebrity Events
Torrance TV Channel 3: Common Cents -
04/08
Beverly Hills Concours
D'Elegance at the Playboy Mansion - 08/07
Life Style TV Channel - Interview behind the the
scenes - 4/07
ESPN - GM All-Car Showdown "King of Bling" - Hollywood, CA - 07/06
The Great KTEH Television Auction - San Jose, CA
- 04/98
Internet
http://www.smashingdarling.com/blog/ - 04/08
www.automotiveartists.com -
Featured artist - 07/07
www.racerchicks.com - Featured article - 06/04
AOL for Small Business
Former website www.inPARTicular.com was featured
as the
Small Biz Web Site of the Week - 05/17/04
Gift
Shows, Car Shows and Art and Wine Festivals
Beverly Hills Concours
D'Elegance - Playboy Mansion 08/07
ESPN GM All-Car Showdown "King of Bling" - 07/06
Palo Alto Concours D' Elegance - 06/06
San Francisco International Gift Fair - 02/05
and 08/05
Los Angeles International Gift Fair - 06/05
Mountain View Art and Wine Festival - 05/01 and
09/05
Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival - 06/00 and 06/05
Boogie on the Bayou - Campbell, CA - 05/04
Good Guys Car Show - 08/01 and 04/05
Hot August Nights - Reno, Nevada - 08/98
Selected Retail Boutiques
Exotic Cars at Caesar's Palace - Las
Vegas, NV
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca - Monterey, CA
Notable
Client Projects
Designing trophies and medals made from recycled bicycle
parts and sports materials for the Marin County
Triathlon - current
Designing a bar stool / chair made from a
recycled transmission case and flywheel -
current
Developing promotional items made with recycled
HP computer plastics for Hewlett Packard's
recycling dept. - current
Developing gift ideas made from car parts and
industrial objects to be represented by MotoArt - current
Designed corporate furnishings for
Mercedes Benz USA using their obsolete car parts
- 02/08
Developed gift ideas made with motorcycle parts
for the upcoming Harley Davidson Museum - 02/08
Designed "green" awards made from recycled parts
for San Francisco's Dept. of the Environment -
01/08
Designed track lights made with motorcycle
headlights for a car collector's garage:
collector - 10/07
Designed car part awards and gifts for the Beverly Hills Concours
D'Elegance - Playboy Mansion - 08/07
Designed custom car part furniture and wall
art for Solera, Inc. - 05/07
Designed Ferrari parts table clock for a Ferrari
themed party: collector - 02/07
Designed engine parts clock awards: Southern
Automotive Auction - Iron Man - 01/07
Designed engine parts clock recognition award:
IBM GM Team - 11/06
Designed motorcycle dealership sprocket awards:
Eastern Motorsports Auction - Top Gun Club -
11/06
Designed giant Ford F-150 engine parts corporate
lobby clock: Gates Corp. - 10/06
Designed flywheel themed car part mementos based
on book "Good to Great": Oxygen One - 09/06
Designed Firebird parts lobby bench, tables and
clock - Advanced Emissions Specialists - 08/06
Designed grand prize car show car part trophy:
Shine and Show - 08/06
Designed car part trophies: 2006 GM Celebrity
All-Car Showdown "King of Bling" - Hollywood, CA
- 07/06
Designed chainsaw parts clock sculpture for NY
Toast: Given to Chainsaw Edit, Inc.- 07/06
Designed Auburn and Cord car part trophies:
40th Annual Palo Alto Concours D' Elegance -
06/06
Designed gear clock award: 6th Annual Raymond
Concours D' Elegance - 06/06
Designed Honda dealership brake rotor tables and
gear clocks: Marburger Automotive Group - 04/06
Designed transmission case end table: Red Bull
Racing - 03/06
Designed 210 spark plug photo frames for a New
York City Bat Mitzvah: private - 02/06
Designed Ferrari style rim tables and Ferrari
style engine parts clock for car collector -
01/06
Designed recycled computer part recognition
gifts: Texas Instruments, Inc. - 11/05
Developed concepts for appreciation gifts for
Mercedes McLaren SLR customer retreat: AMCI -
10/05
Designed flywheel themed car part mementos based
on book "Good to Great": Wachovia Securities -
09/05
Designed restaurant lighting and furniture made
from car and motorcycle parts: Quaker Steak and
Lube - 08/05
Designed VW steering wheel art pieces for
retiring CEO and marketing president: VW North
America, Inc.- 11/04
Designed timing sprocket lobby clocks:
Enterprise Fleet Services - 11/04
Designed flywheel gear clock gift based on book
"Good to Great": Lehigh Valley Health Network -
05/04 and 05/05
Developed promotional item prototypes made from
their computer parts: Cisco Systems - 09/04
Designed lobby and boardroom furnishings: Act
One Technical Services. - 10/00
Designed computer parts lobby clocks and lamps:
Intricast Corp. - 10/98 |
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