Jason Funderburg gives new life to scrap metal.

And we're not talking about throwing it onto the recycling pile so it can all be melting together for a future use. Rather, it finds a home in the walls of homes and in yards as decorations.

"What I make all depends on the material I have on hand," said Funderburg, who owns Valhalla Iron Works in Post Falls. "I spend a lot of time digging through scrap piles. I try to use a lot of recycled material. I work with whatever I find."

His great finds range from old shovels to saw blades to metal that has been cut for other purposes. He transforms such scrap into coat hooks, shovel decorations, wildlife cutout art, hitch covers, old shovels that have been converted into lamps, trellis' and whatever else he and his customers dream up.

"A lot of products cut with plasma cutters are mass produced, but I cater to custom orders," he said. "When I go to craft fairs, I get a lot of compliments that the items are handmade."

Funderburg said some customers will send him photos with their ideas. He draws the design and bounces it off his customers before cutting the metal.

Working with customer requests or his own ideas, Funderburg makes his metal cutouts on his own, which separates him from many other decorative metal manufacturers in the region. He grinds down the material to the bare metal to give it a shiny new life. Then, with a blow torch, the metal is heated until it turns a spectrum of colors, including light brown, purple and blue.

"There's a fine line on how much you heat it," he said, referring to how he reaches desirable colors. "If it turns white, I know I've gone too far."

Much of Funderburg's art and products have a wildlife or natural theme.

"That's what is really popular here," he said.

One of Funderburg's signs featuring different breeds of dogs is displayed at the dog park at McEuen Park in Coeur d'Alene.

Funderburg said he tries to stay away from cutting out letters, but he works with a different company to incorporate words or quotes into his work if that's what the customer desires.

Funderburg said he doesn't buy the material unless he has to. That way he's able to keep his prices down for his customers as much as possible.

"A lot of friends and relatives give me items and keep a lookout for me," he said. "I also go to Hern Iron Works (recycling center in Coeur d'Alene) a lot."

One of Funderburg's best customers is Hayden's Kim Kaiser.

"I really love the colors he creates with the iron," she said, adding that she's purchased decorations for friends, relatives and herself. "The purples and blues match my decor perfectly. I love his art."

Funderburg said some customers prefer the rustic look so they'll request to the leave the art rusty.

"It's whatever the customer specifies," he said.

Kaiser said she appreciates Funderburg's flexibility on helping create what she wants.

"I'll have an idea and ask him if he can make something close to it," she said. "I also love it that he's local and he even delivers it to me."

Most of Funderburg's products sell for between $45 to $125. His work is also on display at Northwest Handmade Furniture in Sandpoint.

Funderburg said he discovered that he had an artistic side while attending Bonners Ferry High School.

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"I had to take an art class to get a diploma," he said. "My art teacher took me aside and said, 'I wish I would've had you as a freshman.'"

He went through North Idaho College's welding program.

"I was going into law enforcement, but when they brought the welding program back I changed my major because I enjoy working with my hands and metal," he said.

As part of a final project, he helped build the metal arch at the Human Rights Institute in Coeur d'Alene about 10 years ago.

Funderburg tinkered with plasma cutting during his welding jobs.

"The economy tanked and jobs were scarce so I bought a plasma cutter to work with out of my garage," he said.

Funderburg started out with wildlife cutouts and saw blade art before branching out with other products.

Funderburg works with a variety of metals, including diamond plate that's used for flatbeds, but he prefers steel because of its durability.

"I also work with aluminum, but it's really messy," he said, adding that the cutout portions turn to fine dust.

Funderburg said the business allows him to stay at home to raise his 4-year-old son, Conrad.

"Once he goes to school I'll invest more time into the business and take the next steps," he said.