Grilling on your backyard dragon
Sculptor Ed McBride's custom barbecues capture the spirit of creatures wild and fanciful.
(Fortune Small Business) -- All that sculptor Ed McBride intended to build was a simple charcoal grill for his backyard. A year later he was searing salmon steaks on a barbecue fashioned to look like a five-foot-tall dragon.
"It was kind of an accident, but it's in my nature to be elaborate," says McBride, who later sold the cooker for $65,000 at a convention of safari enthusiasts. Seeing that success, he added custom-built grills to his line of artistic creations, most of which are sculptures inspired by his encounters with wildlife.
"When you're ten feet away from a grizzly bear in Alaska, you get to really feel the power of the animal," says McBride, 53. "I try to capture that wildness in my pieces."
This summer, the artist, who lives in Ridgecrest, Calif., unveiled a new fire-breathing smoker: a smaller, transportable grill that he attached to the sidecar of a restored 1959 Panhead Harley-Davidson (HOG, Fortune 500). The total package sells for about $80,000, but the grill can be purchased - and used - separately for $44,000. 
The art of glass: Recycled treasures from independent artisans.
Amid art boom, dealers brace for a bust
Features-
Smart entrepreneurs are now doing deals in 140 characters or less on Twitter. More -
As more customers choose - or are forced - to fill prescriptions by mail, independent pharmacies are struggling to survive. More -
A Texas hospitality company considers where to invest and where to cut back to weather the recession. More -
How 7 innovative companies are inspiring workers and boosting the bottom line. More -
42 startups duked it out in the world's most lucrative business plan competition. We trailed one team to the bitter end. More -
The Emerging 200 program aims to boost job growth by training inner-city entrepreneurs to expand their companies. More -
These resellers of DVDs, CDs and books make millions from the media industry's leftovers. More
Never mind the headlines -- for some fireworks companies, there's no slump. More
Tech competition is heating up: Google vs. Microsoft! Microsoft vs. Apple! Apple vs. Palm! Here's how the second half of '09 is shaping up. More
Your car may not be new, but its gizmos can be - for as little as a few hundred bucks. More
More Small Business
