Since Ohrmann Design is a one man operation, and I am the one man, knowing a bit about me is a good way to get to know the business. My name is John Ohrmann. I was born in the mid fifties on a ranch in Western Montana. Since the time I could hold a steering wheel to guide the tractor while my father pitched off the hay, I was active with the ranch. As is usual on a ranch, I learned a variety of skills, including welding, rough carpentry, a little wiring, etc. My father was also an artist, and I grew up watching him create beautiful imaginative woodcarvings and paintings. He also was a lover and observer of nature which rubbed off onto the rest of the family.
My formal education consisted of six years at Montana State University, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Agricultural Engineering followed by a MS in the same field. My master’s thesis concerned the use of four wheel drive tractors on the large wheat ranches in central Montana, specifically how the farmers were actually utilizing the power of these big machines compared to the expectations of the manufacturers. Although tractors have little relation to building, the structural engineering I learned has been useful many times when designing on a non-conventional project.
After graduation from MSU in 1979, I returned to the family ranch where I worked with my father, and leased a neighboring ranch. In 1996 I quit ranching (41 seems to be too young an age to say I retired from ranching) and, with my partner, operated the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast in Philipsburg, Montana. At this time my father also retired from ranching (turning the operation over to my sister and her husband) and dedicated himself to his art full time. It was also at this time that he started creating life sized welded steel sculptures of such animals as elk, grizzly bears, woolly mammoth, mountain goat, etc. I would visit him and help him with creating these sculptures whenever I could.
While I was in Philipsburg, I also started doing contracting work, assisting other local contractors or working on my own. Although not formally apprenticed, I learned plumbing and wiring in addition to framing, sheetrocking, etc. With a well rounded exposure to various aspects of the construction trade, I have the whole project in mind before I start. For instance, I can foresee how to put up wall framing so that it doesn’t interfere with the plumbing or wiring down the line.
After leaving Philipsburg in 2002 I returned to the Drummond area, to our house on a corner of the family ranch. This is when I started Ohrmann Design as a registered business. For the first few years I concentrated on small job contracting, such as remodeling a kitchen or finishing a basement. Since Drummond is such a small town, I generally had to leave home to find work. This involved time in Missoula and Helena and three years in Spokane. When not on the road I worked with my father on his steel sculptures and started doing some creative steel work myself. I started getting some commissions for custom built architectural elements which I found to be more interesting and satisfying than pulling wire in a crawlspace as I dodged the hobo spiders. Also, my parents were getting along in years and I didn’t want to be working so far from home. By the time my father passed in 2014 (at the age of 96) I had scaled back the small job contracting and was doing mostly shop work.
As you look thru this web page, you can see some examples of the work that I have done. It runs the gamut from small yard art, thru garden gates and stairway banisters to large realistic welded steel sculptures. Please contact me if you have any ideas that you would like me to bring to reality.
My formal education consisted of six years at Montana State University, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Agricultural Engineering followed by a MS in the same field. My master’s thesis concerned the use of four wheel drive tractors on the large wheat ranches in central Montana, specifically how the farmers were actually utilizing the power of these big machines compared to the expectations of the manufacturers. Although tractors have little relation to building, the structural engineering I learned has been useful many times when designing on a non-conventional project.
After graduation from MSU in 1979, I returned to the family ranch where I worked with my father, and leased a neighboring ranch. In 1996 I quit ranching (41 seems to be too young an age to say I retired from ranching) and, with my partner, operated the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast in Philipsburg, Montana. At this time my father also retired from ranching (turning the operation over to my sister and her husband) and dedicated himself to his art full time. It was also at this time that he started creating life sized welded steel sculptures of such animals as elk, grizzly bears, woolly mammoth, mountain goat, etc. I would visit him and help him with creating these sculptures whenever I could.
While I was in Philipsburg, I also started doing contracting work, assisting other local contractors or working on my own. Although not formally apprenticed, I learned plumbing and wiring in addition to framing, sheetrocking, etc. With a well rounded exposure to various aspects of the construction trade, I have the whole project in mind before I start. For instance, I can foresee how to put up wall framing so that it doesn’t interfere with the plumbing or wiring down the line.
After leaving Philipsburg in 2002 I returned to the Drummond area, to our house on a corner of the family ranch. This is when I started Ohrmann Design as a registered business. For the first few years I concentrated on small job contracting, such as remodeling a kitchen or finishing a basement. Since Drummond is such a small town, I generally had to leave home to find work. This involved time in Missoula and Helena and three years in Spokane. When not on the road I worked with my father on his steel sculptures and started doing some creative steel work myself. I started getting some commissions for custom built architectural elements which I found to be more interesting and satisfying than pulling wire in a crawlspace as I dodged the hobo spiders. Also, my parents were getting along in years and I didn’t want to be working so far from home. By the time my father passed in 2014 (at the age of 96) I had scaled back the small job contracting and was doing mostly shop work.
As you look thru this web page, you can see some examples of the work that I have done. It runs the gamut from small yard art, thru garden gates and stairway banisters to large realistic welded steel sculptures. Please contact me if you have any ideas that you would like me to bring to reality.