Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Oliva.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Joey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved back to SoCal on my own when I was 18, six months after I graduated high school in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Which is where my family moved to, from Costa Mesa, California. I grew up racing motocross, and that was my main focus moving back to SoCal, I had also of course had a job lined up that was construction based. It was a great place to learn the basics of woodworking, repairing homes damaged by termites and water.
After three years of that, I did decorative framing for one year with a general contractor. Which took my knowledge and precision with carpentry to the next level. With four years under my belt, I went back to doing termite work, as the wages were better, and I had the opportunity to lead, to start, and finish jobs, and teach people what I’ve been taught and what I’ve learned from my personal experiences.
I’ve also been contracted by the Dolab. If you are unfamiliar I suggest you look them up! Basically, they hired me to be a part of a build team for an art experience called the “ARTCLAVE” at Lightening in a Bottle music festival. Production and construction are so similar as far as creative problem-solving demands. Which is something I’ve been so familiar with thanks to the past.
Since then, I’ve decided to put all of my efforts and focus into my own creative process with woodworking. I don’t plan on looking back.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not entirely been a smooth road, the past six years have had rough roads for sure. I’d say the biggest struggles I’ve had aside from making some mistakes at work, was keeping my mind right while being on my own. Becoming an adult and growing into my own person in this world is heavy, especially trying to make it happen in SoCal. I struggled to find roommates off Craigslist, the vehicle issues, trying to continue racing dirt bikes on the weekends and work full time, I was demanding so much from myself and I learned the hard way when I broke my left humerus into pieces due to a crash in the middle of a dirt bike race. Through that recovery, I learned the value of a job and the value of what it means to work. I knew though that I didn’t wanna work for “the man” for the rest of my life, if I gonna work for the man, I’m gonna be the man. Navigating through that is also rough on its own.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Oliva Customs story. Tell us more about the business.
Oliva Customs is simple, it’s just my last name of course, and anything custom I can create. I primarily want to focus and specialize in carpentry. There are so many ways to work with wood and ways it can benefit our lives. I’m known for work that is precise, when I have a proper amount of time and resources, just about anything is possible. I’ve made custom shaped art canvases that artists and art patrons have loved. Art frames, shipping crates, just about any shape and size. I am most proud of the spinning cube sculptures up to this point, as they’ve been inspired by using scrap wood, and trying to make something interactive and simply something I haven’t seen before. What would set me apart from others, would be my visions of a project and ways I see fit to get a job done. Nothings really perfect, but you can get pretty damn close if you strategize each and every step of the process.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Within 5-10 years, I want to be fully independent with Oliva Customs, doing work with my own client’s whether it’s in or around their home, as well as more entertainment production jobs, maybe even around the world. It’s a huge goal to build my brand recognition, and have people know Oliva Customs as an efficient, fun, and energetic experience to have for any of their customs ideas, and my own.
Pricing:
- $100 per cube sculpture
- $50 per hour for custom work
Contact Info:
- Address: 1980 Placentia ave.
Costa Mesa, California
92627 - Phone: 9496901533
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: olivacustoms
- Facebook: Joey Oliva
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
