Meet Gabriel Baiza: Custom Furniture & Fabrication

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabriel Baiza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabriel, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
To trust yourself. Art is very subjective, not all will love or like what you do, and that is okay. Art also has very niche spaces, meaning not all consumers will fall into your space. This business has taught us to stay true to ourselves and our designs regardless of the comments or opinions.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We specialize in industrial modern metal furniture, decor and fabrication. Building hot rods with my dad growing up, we always had spare parts, and I decided to turn them into functioning pieces. As time went on, we decided to turn it into a business. Since then, we have really focused on home accents, such as gates, wall art, tables and lattices. Our tailgate furniture is a staple and what most of our clients know us for! Professionally, it was not the easiest as you have to learn the business side 100% on your own. Thankfully we make a great team and we manage responsibilities evenly! One thing I would definitely suggest is researching all the taxes, licenses, and ensuring you are set with the business side before jumping in to anything, to ensure its easier down the road! We want the world to know that it is possible to follow a dream and see it through. We worked full time jobs and then worked this business after hours. We had ups, downs, and lessons were learned but we stuck it out and learned through it! In business you will always lose, in small ways or in big ways, and many get discouraged during that season. Push through it, because its just a season!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Tempe has turned into a small melting pot for sure because of the University. We would recommend taking a trip down Mill Avenue and checking out all the pubs and shops. Tempe Town Lake has really grown as well, and its worth driving by! For the hikers, camelback mountain is close, and so is Tempe mountain, which is MUCH smaller! The days may be hot, but in the afternoons, a patio meal is the best! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Huge shoutout to our support system! Our friends and family who have cheered us on and have helped. From my brother who has collaborated with me on renderings, to my retired dad who is ALWAYS there when I need a hand in production or deliveries.

Website: www.gerbdesigns.com
Instagram: instagram.com/gerbdesigns