Hello and welcome, this is our second newsletter from the forge, the first one being sent in January this year . To quickly address why you are receiving it: you probably asked if I had a mailing list at some point in the past or you responded to a post on Facebook, possibly we have met, maybe at a show, or you have visited the forge or possibly made an enquiry via the website. It may have been a while ago, so you might have to dig deep into the old memory banks. If you don’t want to receive these emails you can absolutely unsubscribe (down at the bottom)… but I hope you stay! I will not bombard you whilst hopefully offering you something of interest including helpful tips, inspiration, recommendations, and possibly some fun.
Exciting Times
2022 has been a very exciting year in the forge as we have taken on both a welder and an apprentice. The training side is very rewarding but we quickly found that jobs frequently got in the way, plus, as they are local the chances of them getting any outside experience whilst working here is very low. As a result the two of them have been booked into courses run by smiths I admire and respect to improve their skills and vary their smithing experience. I know they are enjoying the experience and I hope that those who see the work we are producing will begin to see small changes as the skill level rises.
New Products
Over the summer we have been working on a number of exciting new sculptures which will be making their debut appearances at the Christmas shows. The website will be updated with these new items and some are available in our Folksy shop.
These include some ot the items shown below, :-
Wild Garden
A Video clip of a new sculpture
Galleries
Further to the recent Creative Gallery Wareham Guest appearance – 1st-31st August, St John’s Hill, Wareham BH20 4NB some of my work is in a joint exhibition in the Gallery in the run up to Christmas
Earlier this year I was filmed for an item which appeared on “Love your weekend with Alan Titchmarsh”
The filming process was great fun and did include Martyna and Graham despite the brief appearances they made in the final cut.
Many Thanks to Justin Ingham for making a marvelous short film which is available here
Events
This year has been like reacquainting ourselves with a former life, it has been a constant round of shows with all the fun that revisiting old friends brings. As makers, much of our social life is the family we have made on the road, so it has been wonderful to get together again, have dinner in the evenings and chat about all things creative into the small hours. As the year draws to an end there are a couple more shows left to enjoy, why not come along and say hello.
RHS Garden Wisley – Craft in Focus
9 – 13 November
Two events for one admission – A mixed discipline craft fair is being held alongside a Desire Jewellery & Silversmithing Fair featuring a diverse selection of fabulous contemporary jewellers and silversmiths at RHS Hilltop within the Gardens.
The Artful Christmas Weekend brings together a selection of talented artists and makers with a range of high quality arts and crafts in the beautiful setting of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens.
Venue:
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Jermyns Lane,
Romsey, SO51 0QA
Unfortunately courses are still cancelled, we finally got through the backlog this spring but, as I have changed the layout of the workshop to accommodate Martyna the apprentice and Graham the welder, there is no longer enough space to teach groups. We do have plans to restart courses but it is dependent on getting a new workshop which is unlikely to happen before 2024. Locally you may want to contact Steven Jones stevejonesmetalart.com as he does run the occasional course alternatively look on https://www.craftcourses.com
