Hobby Turns Neligh Teen Into An Entreprenuer

What started as one project for a friend has turned into his passion.

Talon Krebs said he was inspired with the idea of making rustic, wooden American flags a few months ago and has been making them ever since.

“We stayed at a friend’s house in Colorado, and he wanted something that would look cool on his wall,” Krebs said.

The 15-year-old said he started searching for ideas online and found a YouTube video of someone making a similar item. When Krebs returned to his home in Neligh, he got to work.

He creates the flags by cutting strips of wood. Every other piece is burnt until it is blackened and the others are “really lightly burned.” Once the pieces are put together for the stripes, he makes the stars by using a stencil and carving each one out.

“I kinda like tracing the stars out, but they take a long time,” Krebs said.

A busy freshman and member of the Neligh-Oakdale football team, he doesn’t have much free time, but when he does, you can find him woodworking in his garage.

“I work on them right when I get home,” Krebs said. “I come out here and work on them and then I go eat and come back out.”

He said he spends approximately 3 hours a day on them.

“Sometimes when I don’t have school I work longer,” Krebs said.

His parents, Jason Krebs and Alissa Krebs of Neligh, are proud of Talon’s dedication to the project.

“He admires patriotism, lots of his relatives past and present, have served and are currently serving,” Alissa said. “And he is a very hard worker. He has done every bit of this on his own. He comes home from practice and goes straight to the garage.”

Krebs said he has created about 10 flags so far. It takes him around 10 hours to make the large flags.

He has templates to make other styles of flags in the future.

“I’m doing a Husker star template and the old 1776 with the 13 stars,” Krebs said. “I have the templates in the garage, and the next flag I’m making is a Husker one so I can make them whenever.”
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Krebs makes the flags in three sizes: small - 13 x 24.5 inches, medium - 19.5 x 37 inches and large - 26 x 48 inches. The prices of the flags are $70, $100 and $160, respectively. They are available at Carhart Lumber in Neligh or by contacting Talon at 402-929-3434.

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