Meet Nicholas Stewart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Stewart.

Hi Nicholas, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a boy, I was forever intrigued by how things worked. Every free moment I was in the garage taking things apart and attempting to put them back together. I thrived on these discoveries and it fed my growing curiosity to want to dive deeper into how the world around me was built and how it worked. Whether it was working with my dad during the summers building houses or adding new parts to my quad to go race on the weekends, the world was my playground when my hands were able to build and fix almost anything. Growing up this way led me to a life of fruitful possibilities and one I never could have imagined.

At the age of 19, I opened my own welding business under the name ‘Integrated Fabrication’ in a small town in Connecticut after attending a two-year welding program. Having just started my business, I took on random projects and any work I could get. It also gave me the opportunity to gain some “real” experience and meet a well-known French artist who gave me challenging projects but who would eventually lead me to my momentous decision to move to California. He was bi-coastal and happened to reside in one of the most beautiful homes in Santa Barbara for the winter where he needed metal work done. At this point, I had had enough of the painfully cold Connecticut winters when I opted for the obvious choice after one visit to the sunny state.

Moving to California was the dream that everyone talks about. My life began to align when I landed a fabrication position with a growing custom furniture shop that specializes in quality crafted products for very high-profile clientele. It was in this time I really honed my skills and put maximum effort into constantly improving. What I never expected was to be working inside some of the most beautifully designed homes in Los Angeles or that something I made would be in a glossy magazine or a TV show. I can clearly reflect and know that during this time period, I was privy to a higher level of craft that gave me the confidence to set out on my own and make my own designs.

After I received news of the company relocating, I made a bold move to realize my own goals. They were to work for myself and move to San Diego, a city that called to me with its surfing and skate culture, something I am very interested in and knew I wanted to be a part of.

In 2022, I proudly re-opened my doors as ‘Integrated Fabrication’ in Oceanside, California. This is where my talented team and I work with a wide range of materials including wood & metal to build both custom furniture and architectural elements. Our network of designers keeps our jobs interesting and exciting with ever-changing projects. We are looking forward to the next evolution of ‘In Fab Designs’ as we grow and expand in the world of custom furniture. This year will also mark a new phase in my life as I dedicate time to a product I have been holding on to for the past ten years. Design meets motion in a futuristic style with the release of Delorean Longboards in 2023. A product line of fun high-performance skateboards intended to bring a new look and feel to the original skateboard and longboard. As a designer and a skateboarder, this product lets me combine my passions and allows me to share it with others on a greater scale.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Life always felt like a challenge. My family’s motto was to “suck it up” if you even hinted at a gripe. In this way I learned fast that I would have to overcome any hardships on my own, to push through and keep going. I now believe that this parenting style, good or bad, made me a tougher person and helped me develop a determined mindset regarding everything.

When I was 11 years old, I worked construction with my father and I later used that money to buy myself everything I needed to start racing motocross at the age of 13. The struggle to perform physically and mentally during a race shaped me to become a strong competitive individual. I am appreciative of my past experiences and the adversities I faced growing up with very little and knowing what it’s like to work hard for what you want. I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish what I have if it wasn’t for my rugged and explorative childhood experiences. These are the moments that truly shape our character and stay ingrained in us. The beauty is that we can use the cards we’ve been dealt to our advantage and discard what doesn’t serve us anymore, which I consciously did when I moved West.

Today I am able to jump over the daily hurdles that come with the responsibilities of being a business owner and dealing with high-stress situations with a calm, collected, and thoughtful manner. This is a must in the world of custom fabrication because it is a very physically and mentally demanding profession that requires deep concentration and a chess-like focus to see all the steps ahead of time.

Being able to endure and thoroughly enjoy this type of work helps me build my knowledge and grow my strengths as an artisan. It is part of the never-ending process of learning and developing my skill set even further with every project I deliver.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My Company Integrated Fabrication specializes in designing and building custom furniture. We source materials including wood, metal, glass, & fabric to build one-off pieces of furniture for our clients. Dreams into reality starting with a rendering and raw materials. In our studio we cut, sand, stain, paint, drill, and assemble then install in our client’s beautiful homes. We craft it all in a 3,000 square foot studio that my partner and I worked tirelessly to customize for the best working environment. I knew I was going to spend most of my time here and I needed it to be not only functional but comfortable as well.

I am most proud of the humble commitment that I have put into perfecting this craft. Learning both woodworking and metalworking has allowed me freedom in the world of design. What sets us apart is the boldly individualistic aesthetic in both our furniture and skateboards. We are not looking to copy what has been done, we strive to innovate.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My successes has come a lot from my upbringing. Both my parents displayed great work ethics. I am grateful to have spent summers learning from my father. He is very much a master craftsman and an artist. Much of what I am today. I have been fortunate enough to work with some great designers who have opened my eyes to great aesthetics. Without great design, my skills as a craftsman would go unnoticed. Last but not least, my partner Judy has played a huge role in my success. Sometimes all you need is that right person on your team and anything is possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: infabdesigns.com
• Instagram: @infabdesigns