Tuấn Anh dropped out of university in his senior year to open a workshop to fulfill his passion: to make interior decorations from motorbike and car scrap. VNS Photo Diệp Phan.

By Xuân Đăng & Diệp Phan 

HCM CITY -- A short drive from downtown HCM City is ABM Shop, an interior decor workshop located in Bình Thạnh District. This young company has managed to expand thanks to its unusual products -- interior decorative items made from motorbike and car scrap.

Shop founder Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, who was born in Đà Lạt and has lived in HCM City for 20 years, started his business three years ago.

Instead of graduating from school to become an information technology engineer as his family expected, in his senior year of university when he was 21 years old he dropped out of school and started learning mechanics by himself in order to pursue his dream: to make interior decorations.

After several years, he set up his own workshop, called ABM Shop, in 2018.

"I started after leaving my job at a motorbike workshop. It was because I have loved crafting and creating unique products since I was little. I wanted to try something new that still allowed me to channel my passion," Tuấn Anh said.

A desk clock in a Bumblebee Robot shape made from gears, chains and motorcycle parts designed by ABM Shop. Photo courtesy of ABM Shop

"At the time, no one was doing this, so I referred to foreign objects and artists," he added

He learned on his own, and has now passed on his know-how to mechanics and craftsmen in his workshop.

"The materials come from many sources, such as motorbike and car junk yards, old lawnmowers or boats," Tuấn Anh said.

From these, parts are shaped and assembled to best meet each customer's demand.

The job requires workers to be careful in every step because when a mistake occurs, the worker will have to cut it again or start over.

"At first, it was difficult to collect the appropriate parts, and especially to find customers. As time went by, everything improved, we had more and more orders, and the size and complexity of our products also increased," he said.

"The model I feel that I like the most is the first watch that I made, although it was a small and simple one. At that time it was a challenge because I did not have enough material as well as the skills to do it. However, the customer liked the final product. This made me more motivated to do the work that I am pursuing."

The 30 square-metre workshop assembles almost all interior decor objects: tables, chairs, clocks, lamps and other household items made from mechanical scrap.

At ABM Shop, around 50 products are sold monthly, mostly through social media. Customers are often bikers but also managers of restaurants, cafes and showrooms around the country.

Recently, car collectors have come to buy the decor items at ABM Shop, which are seen as original and unique gifts.

The products here are priced from millions to hundreds of millions Vietnamese dong.

Depending on the difficulty and requirements of the customer, the products take from a few days to up to a month to complete.

Depending on the difficulty and requirements of the customer, products take from a few days to up to a month to complete.  Photo courtesy of ABM Shop

"I can proudly say that in Việt Nam, ABM Shop is the most creative workshop in this sector. Recently, the workshop has also exported products overseas, so I would like to open a showroom in HCM City so that customers can easily experience the products," Tuấn Anh said. VNS