There’s something special about working steel in a forge. It connects you to the process of creation in a way that gives you more respect and curiosity for the materials used and the process itself, often following the way something moves under the hammer rather than staying fixed to a percieved outcome.
I was fairly feral as a child, roaming where I would over hill, stream, along coastline and cliffs but always connected in with the nature and spirit of the land. My family would often spend a week in the summer at Whitby in Yorkshire (thanks to my Aunty Judy for renting the rooms), where i would wander and watch jewellers and glass makers creating their tourist charms and items as well as frequenting the local joke shop. At home I would make small copper pieces hammered on the back of an axe head as an anvil and dream of changing the outhouse into a mini workshop. What started me off on my blacksmithing journey was reading a book by Michael Scott Rohan called 'The Anvil of Ice'. Having failed to get into arts college in Cumbria due to my ADHD brain leaving the portfolio work till the last few days. I started to follow in the tradition of the Harland family (over 100 years of it) and started a years engineering course in Carlisle Tech. I got an apprenticeship at the tender age of 19 with an Italian Blacksmith just outside of Oxford where I lived in a caravan and started my training. I came away from blacksmithing for a while learning about agriculture, singing and top end audio equipment before heading back to train in Blacksmithing at the Hereford centre for rural crafts. After my course I worked for and with several blacksmiths before setting up my own forge in Bowerchalke, Wiltshire. My interest in nature and the spirit of the land made me very aware of the environment and living more sustainibly which lead me to move to Wales having discovered its One Planet Development scheme, buy some land and set up my current forge in Carmarthenshire. At this point i am allowing myself to really connect with the aspects i enjoy in blacksmithing, and hope to inspire others to take their own paths with this beautiful craft. Thanks for reading, David x
“The techniques that I use give movement to the steel, making each piece unique. Every item no matter how small, I work with care and love.”
