DUSON — Sparks and tiny flecks of metal spray up from where a bit and a piece of metal meet on Brennan Rhymes' large CNC machine. Most days the 25-year-old in Duson is grinding metal into custom artwork designed on his computer, turning large saw blades into the Superdome, crawfish and more.

Rhymes started working with metal when he was still in high school at W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center in Lafayette. He learned to weld there and fell in love with the work, continuing outside of school with his dad in their garage.

Their shared hobby produced a lot of pieces, so Rhymes' dad suggested they start an online shop and see if there was an interest in custom metal artwork. There was — a lot.

The father-son duo started the Acadiana Graphics store on Etsy in 2012, and by the time Rhymes graduated from high school in 2014, they had so much business that Dad was ready to hand the reins over to his son.

He already had a full-time job and Acadiana Graphics was turning into a second. Now that he was out of school, Rhymes could dedicate more time to it.

"He said, 'If you can keep up with it, go ahead,'" Rhymes said.

Years later, Rhymes is still hard at work, now in a large shop behind the house rather than the garage and on a bigger CNC machine.

And it's still very much a family business. His wife does a lot of the social media marketing with their Etsy shop and Facebook page, and his dad still helps manage the business' finances.

His friend Adam Gustafson, 27, joined the business about two years ago, and he and Rhymes often split the work according to what they each enjoy more. Gustafson lately does most of the powder-coating for the products.

"I like all the shop work; it's what I've always done," Gustafson said. "It feels right to me."

Rhymes likes getting to be creative with designs he comes up using AutoCAD software, but the hands-on work might be his favorite. He finds that part relaxing.

"I like the grinding and how zoned in you have to be to get the angles right," he said. "It's peaceful and gives me time to think for an hour, and then you get a pretty awesome, solid product at the end."

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His metal work is different than some on the market in that he uses thicker sheets of metal. It can be more cost-effective but harder to work with, and he prefers a final product with some depth.

He gets his steel locally, lately from Crowley or Breaux Bridge, depending on pricing and availability.

"Metal prices right now are all over the place," Rhymes said.

Some of his best sellers feature the quintessential Louisiana fleur-de-lis, especially among local customers or others out-of-state who came from the Bayou State.

Amonghis largest and perhaps favorite pieces are 6-foot bucking saws featuring upside down fleur-de-lis rather than the ragged blade edge with symbols of his home state adorned across the top. It's his father's design and takes about 2 to 3 hours to cut out of metal.

"I like making the saws; people really get a kick out of them," Rhymes said. "I've done a ton of these for auctions."

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Another large project underway in the shop is a sign for an Alabama restaurant that looks like the famous sign that welcomes visitors to Las Vegas. Rhymes is excited about the creativity and new challenge of this project. There are multiple layers that have to be created and then put together.

"It's fun because it's different," he said. "I like to do custom designs."

He and Gustafson are looking for new challenges and ways to include more fabrication and welding in his work.  Making custom firepits with cutout designs is an idea they're considering.

But they can go small, too. Acadiana Graphics sells custom desk placards and metal house number signs. These smaller projects allow them not only to meet a need in the market but also make the most of their metal supply.

"It's a lot of problem-solving," Rhymes said.

Contact children's issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @LeighGGuidry.