Meet Nick Huey of It’s a Huey in South Metro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Huey.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been creative all my life and never knew what to do with it. I would make random jewelry and odd and end pieces out of leather scraps, hemp. Other materials such as glass, wood & bone beads. I started working at horse town Western store in Locust Grove, GA on Mar 3, 2001 and gained 17 years of experience working with felt hats, Western boots and learning about different leathers and leather products.

While working at horse town, I got a job on the road as a sales rep for a leather accessories company with a territory from North GA to Key West. I was looking for a way to make extra income. I needed a side hustle that I was passionate about. I remember seeing countless pieces on the ground like bottle caps, nutts & bolts, rusted washers at all the truck stops up and down Interstate 75. I started collecting rusty relics from all over. I threw together a kit of copper wire, leather scraps, old belts, dish soap, a nail brush from a South, FL dollar store. I took my kit, my rusty findings from interstate 75, old toothbrush and checked into a hotel in Jupiter Beach FL. I ruined a lot of hotel towels by degreasing my findings from I 75. I made simple leather necklaces and cuffs and started wearing them. I took my built up inventory what little I had and kept it in a red money bag.

Wearing my pieces while traveling my territory I would have people ask me where could they get the line I was wearing and I would then sell out by the end of the week. One thing led to another and I quit my job and went back to work at horse town Western store’s and started building my brand/business. I have my work in shops in TN, GA, FL. I sell my work online at Instagram.com/itsahuey & Facebook.com/itsahuey. I have shipped to all four corners of the United States. I have been blessed with the opportunity and honor to work with bands like Salazar of Vidalia, GA, Southern Wings of Vidalia, GA. World famous Will Turpin of Collective soul & world famous video producer Mil Cannon.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road exactly . I have lost two cars, relationships, self-respect in the beginning, I have had financial issues, slept in my car multiple times but I have gained more self-respect than I have ever had for myself because I went after this dream that becomes more and more of a reality each day.

Please tell us about It’s a Huey.
I am a independent artist that owns a brand of leather art & furniture named ITS A HUEY. I make custom jewelry, leather bags, guitar straps, camera straps, purses & industrial furniture. I am most proud of the fact I work mostly with repurposed materials that I find on the side of the highway, junkyards, industrial buildings, old barns, garages, backyards, and old farmland. I feel because I work mostly with trash that I turn into something that people want and lifetime warranty my work. I respect the pieces that I find that are labeled as junk & trash. I have struggled with depression and anxiety and felt I was junk and trash. I feel that through my faith in GOD almighty the star breather he is taking me and continues to dust of off the rust and made something out of my broken pieces. I am just a GA boy that wants to give the broken & forgotten pieces a chance is all.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Looking for Arrowheads and fishing with my brother and dad.

Contact Info:

• Email: nhuey84@gmail.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/itsahuey
• Facebook: Facebook.com/itsahuey

Image Credit:
Nick Huey, Mil Cannon, Zena Nobles

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