Breaux Bridge Artist Appears in ‘Popular Mechanics’ Magazine

Brandy Guidry Aube', a native of Cecilia, made it in this month's edition of "Popular Mechanics" magazine!

Aube', who now resides in Breaux Bridge, took part in a "Makers Series" challenge, and her work as part of the collaboration is featured in the July/August issue of Popular Mechanics magazine.

Make48 is the organization that partnered with Popular Mechanics with the sole purpose of showcasing the organization's series in which people collaborate, create, and rise to the challenge.

Brandy, a self-described designer/fabricator/welder/seamstress/wife extraordinaire (I added that last part, but Kory would agree), studied Product Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is now a Visual Arts instructor at St. Bernard Elementary School in Breaux Bridge.

For this project, she worked with an artist named April Wilkerson. The team worked together to build a "River Table".

Wilkerson, Aube's partner for the project, is a popular YouTube DIYer in the woodworking community. Together, they conceptualized and built the table using a slab of wood from a tulip tree that was delivered from Missouri by Miller's Rustic Sawmill.

The team had 48 hours (hence the "Make48" name) to complete the project. Aube' used her skills to fabricate the base for the table, while Wilkerson took care of the resin and woodworking.

The table was designed and created for country music star Granger Smith and his wife Amber. The Smiths lost their son, River Kelly Smith, in 2019, and their non-profit organization, the River Kelly Fund, was created in his name.

The completed table is valued at around $18,000 and could easily fetch more at auction.

I asked Brandy how it felt to be in Popular Mechanics Magazine, and this was her answer:

Making it into the magazine is great, but what really touched me was just being involved in this project. Knowing that so many memories will be made around this table. Just a few weeks ago we got word that Granger and his family had moved into their new home and had already prayed around the table before their first meal in the home as they shed a few tears. This table has a deep meaning for them and knowing that I was able to help create something that honors the memory of their son, something they will keep in the family for generations, means the world to me.

Granger and Amber Smith have a YouTube series and included the making of the table in one of the episodes:

I took a minute to poke around Brandy's website to check out some of her work and I have to say, she is one talented lady!

Yes, Brandy made all of the furniture pictured above. Beautiful stuff!

Congratulations to you, Brandy Guidry Aube', for making it into Popular Mechanics magazine, and thank you for representing Acadiana so well!