Outshaped...A source of innovative creation

I have regularly driven by the huge bronzed bear sitting on the front porch of the Outshaped building in Dassel. Intrigued, I contacted them to see if they would consent to telling me about themselves.

Dustin Bekkala, one of the five brothers and one sister who own and operate Outshaped, gave me a tour of their manufacturing site today.

Outshaped began in 2017 when a few of the brothers began building bronze shapes. Their website said, 'A couple of brothers playing with machines." Today Outshaped is an ever growing business creating sculptures for people and organizations all over the country and the world.

Here is my simplified understanding of the fabrication process.

The client presents a 3D image to Outshaped, or they present a concept and Outshaped creates

Beep Boop, The core of the team. Think Skynet with a heart.

the image.

The project is then built to specifications from blocks of styrofoam. Beep Boop takes over and does the fine detailing and sculpting, with the help of the team. (I believe that Beep Boop is the core of the team)

The project is spackled, enhanced, and finalized. A sturdy epoxy covers the sculpture, making it rock hard and resistant to weather. Any leftover styrofoam is bagged and returned to the styrofoam company to be recycled into more blocks.

They also make carved signage with an

C and C machine. Signs you can see at many companies about the country.

This all sounds easy right? Nope the process is intensive, meticulous, well planned and perfect. And fast, their average project time is only 10 days. They envision, design, create and ship quickly and efficiently.

Their creative mind.

While there I saw a magnificent sculpture that was nearly finished. However I was totally forbidden to take a picture until sometime next week. The sculpture is proprietary and cannot be photographed and published until it is in the hands of the client. Be sure that you will see it here!

The bear you see on their front porch was

Expo Bear

created for an expo at the 2021 ASLA Expo, Nashville Tennessee. It was created in a mere 14 days and featured on the cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine, Dec 2021

What about that gorilla? This fantastic creature, Harambe, was commissioned by Sapien Technology and originally faced off with the bull of Wall Street. Since then it has traveled, at one time visiting the halls of Facebook.

Take time to explore their website. I am in awe. Outshaped is a marvelous addition to our community, and best yet...it is run by a homegrown family and team.

The Outshaped Team left to right...Eldon Bekkala /VP Sales Engineering, Karl Bekkala/ Manufacturing, Jack Anderson/ Finishing, June Bekkala/ Artist and Accounting, Troy Morris /Finishing , Dustin Bekkala /Manufacturing and Accounting. Missing is Bob Anderson /Artist, and of course, Beep Boop.

Their promise... You’ll be confident. From start to finish, we’ve got your back.