Sculpt Garage is known for their innovative use of wood, metal, fiberglass, advanced equipment and high quality upholstery materials in every one of their interior design projects. Brent Davison founded the company ten years ago in San Marcos, Tex., a small town less than an hour’s drive south of Austin. He says he’s inspired by craftsmanship, which is clearly apparent when looking at his interior restoration of a 1937 Ford van.
“Basically it came gutted - it didn’t have anything,” says Davison about the condition of the vehicle when it arrived at his shop. “And it was pretty challenging, actually, to fit everything in because cars in the ‘30’s were a lot narrower than in today’s cars.”
Luckily, Davison has an eye for envisioning a project in 3-D. “Yeah,” he explains, “I can see it in my head. I’m talking to the customer and I can get a good picture of where things need to go right off the bat.”
It doesn’t hurt that Davison has a background in design. “My mom is a graphic designer and my dad is an electrical engineer, so I grew up in art classes and college design classes.”
Davison started working in the car audio industry eventually owning his own shop. Then he was hired to build concept cars for Alpine Electronics in California. “Those years gave me a huge jump in the business … and some credibility,” he explains.
He also learned that using the right materials on a job is as important as the design. “When you are creating three-dimensional shapes and you need to wrap a panel, say, you need the leather to conform around it,” he says. “It is a lot easier using stuff like vinyls, but when you get into the high-end cars, everybody wants leather, so the leather has to be great.”
Davison says that’s why he chooses to go with Moore & Giles leather for his projects. “We pretty much use their leather exclusively,” he says. “It has a good hand to it… and a good stretch. That’s what attracted me to the Carlyle line in particular … its good hand.”
As Davison’s business continues to grow, he appreciates the service that comes along with choosing Moore & Giles. “They really go above and beyond to get you whatever you need,” he says. “They kind of take an old-school approach to sales and customer service … they meet face-to-face with us and it’s great knowing who you’re talking to during the ordering process.”
Although an interior project is usually at the tail end of a restoration, Davison likes being the last step in the process.
“The chassis, the wheels, the motor – everything is done by the time it gets to us. The upholstery makes a huge difference in the vehicle because it is the most visual aspect of seeing a vehicle,” says Davison. “I kind of think that with the upholstery, we put the cherry on top,” he smiles.
For more information about Sculpt Garage, visit their website. Sculptgarage.com
To talk about using Moore & Giles leather in your next interior project, get in touch with Randy at [email protected] or give him a call: 928-208-8155 Be sure to follow on Instagram: mooreandgilesonthemove and rbestleather
