Category Archives: Blacksmithing

Ind.i.a Spa’s 40th Birthday

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IND.I.A. SPA’S BIRTHDAY

Ind.i.a is a company as solid as steel, the kind of steel which proclaims history, passion, difficulties, and progression at the same time. It is made up of a group of companies which all started and began 40 years ago.

Back in 1971, Arch. Bruno Gonzato started the company, Ind.i.a, to produce amphibian means of transport. Ind.i.a, with the initial letters coming from the Italian name Industria Italiana Anfibi, later was changed to Arteferro.

To sponsor this business he first started producing wrought iron scrolls, which is a very common item throughout the Vicenza area.

Within a very short period, Bruno Gonzato realized that his business is much more fascinating that he could have ever imagined, and decided to start investing in this market. Following his instinct, the art and passion of wrought iron was able to transmit.

Ind.i.a has grown through much experience and magnitude to become a group of 22 subsidiaries worldwide, all producing and distributing components, forgings, and finished products of wrought iron and stainless steel through three different name brands: IND.I.A, II Grande Fabbro, and Arteferro Inox.

The expansion has not undermined the love for tradition which marks out this ancient art. To this day Arch. Bruno Gonzato still considers himself a craftsman rather than a major manufacturer, always running his company looking for innovation and design.

He is helped by his wife Stefania, whom is also an architect and designer, as well as his daughter Francesca and sons Matteo, Davide, Dario, and son-in-law Andrea. Through the will of letting second generation grow in managing the industry, it sets a solid base for the future and grants continuity of the company’s philosophy and quality of the brand Ind.i.a.

“Birds in Art” of Boleslaw Kochanowski

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Junction City blacksmith to be featured in ‘Birds in Art’

Boleslaw Kochanowski has found a way to fuse a craft passed on to him from generations with his love of nature.

A Junction City blacksmith by trade, Kochanowski creates fine art iron pieces that depict birds and nature. This weekend he gets to share his work with Wisconsin residents as one of about 100 artists featured in this year’s “Birds in Art” exhibit, which opens Saturday at the Wausau’s Woodson Art Museum.

The exhibit will include Kochanowski’s “Tango,” a wrought iron piece depicting two herons that stands more than 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

For inspiration, Kochanowski spends time outdoors, transferring ideas to paper before hammering images of birds, leaves and foliage into iron that is heated to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

“I look at birds. I watch their movements and how their movements suggest lines for ironwork,” Kochanowski said.

from wausaudailyherald.com

Skills and art

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Peters Valley blacksmith, crafters display skills

By BRUCE A. SCRUTON

From under the shade of a non-chestnut tree came the unmistakable ring of a metal hammer striking hot metal as the blacksmith wrought a bar of iron stock into a replica of the type of hooks common in homes when nearly every village had its own “smith” and most household metal objects were made by hand.

Dick Sargeant was busy Wednesday turning out everyday gadgets, like the hook or a more modern and quickly made bottle opener as part of the Peters Valley Craft Center demonstration area at the New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Farm and Horse Show.

Along with Sargeant, Wednesday afternoon’s demonstrators included Donna Emmerman, who used a wood lathe to turn out a snowman decoration, then later turned her attention to a papier mache sculpture she is working on as part of a series of pieces about advertising.

As she worked on building up the sculpture from strips of paper soaked in a water/paste mixture, she noted: “I can see what I’m doing. Here, girl, you wear these.”

Taking off her sunglasses, she slipped them on the face of the unfinished housewife.

The piece, when finished, will not have the glasses, but will have a decoupage coat of 1940s magazine ads advising men what appliances would be nice for them to buy for their wives.

“I’m going to call it, â You Bought Me What?!’ ” Emmerman said.

Peters Valley Craft Center operates in Sandyston with a full summer of programs and workshops on its grounds in the former hamlet of Bevis in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

During the run of the fair, however, the center has set up its own demonstration area near the Sussex County building with daily demonstrators from noon to 6 p.m.

Today, the demonstrators include pottery, spinning, blacksmithing and turning. On Friday, a wood carver, a blacksmith and a spinner will be working, along with demonstrations on ceramics. On Saturday, there will be demonstrations on leather tooling, ceramics, wood turning and the blacksmith.

There will also be weaving demonstrations every day open to anyone who wants to try their hand at a loom.

“Sunday will be a grabbag,” Emmerman said. “All the artists are invited to show up.”

Sargeant, who has spent much of his life as a blacksmith, said there are still many professional blacksmiths in the country, often working on restoration projects, but also as commercial operations where there is little call for pieces, so it is not cost-effective to have an automated manufacturing line.

He said the term “wrought iron” comes from old English where “wrought” meant “to work,” so wrought iron “was iron that was worked, and to work iron, you need to heat it up and hammer it into shape.”

In a regular blacksmith shop, the coal or coke fire on the hearth can get up to 3,000 degrees, but for demonstrations, Sargeant brings along a gas-fired portable forge that heats the iron or steel bar to about 2,000 degrees.

from njherald.com

Moncton’s new Artisan Village on Main Street

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Moncton’s new Artisan Village to open soon

By Yvon Gauvin

Stretching his arms wide, Shane Myers encapsulates the future look of Moncton’s new Artisan Village on Main Street, turning the vast open workshop that was once part of an automotive dealership into a haven for artists and a go-to place for art lovers and budding artists.

Serge Martin works with clay to make a butter dish container during an open house yesterday at The Artisan Village, an open workshop, gallery and cafe complex.

He can see the dividing walls, the wrought iron fixtures including trees lining the new cafe, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the art gallery where art work by village artists and others will hang and ambiance lighting above to the work spaces of member artists and artisans.

The Artisan Village located in the former Dryden Motors building at 465 Main St. opened its door to the public yesterday, giving visitors a glimpse into the future. Much still has to be done, but Myers, a founder of the village, is confident the cafe and gallery will be open for business within six months and the rest of the transition completed by the start of next summer. The gallery should be open in a month, he said.

But it’s much more than a gallery/showplace. People will be able to come in and watch the artists at work on their medium, whether its painting, pottery, stone cutting and polishing to metal working, Myers’ speciality. The metal workshop will have a thick protective glass to prevent eye damage the bright glare from metal cutting and welding tools.

The village has six artists in residence now and room for another six. The artists can come and go any time they wish and the public will be allowed in any time an artist is at work and the door is open, which could be seven days a week, he said.

The village is not unlike Moncton’s Aberdeen Cultural Centre which brings together a number of artists and workshops. What is different is that the village encourages people to come in and watch the artists at work and talk with them about their art and work, he said.

It will be an economic generator for the downtown bringing people to Moncton and generating sales for art works, he prophesied.

Art and culture have really appreciated in the region in the past 10 years, with more and more people buying beautiful art works for their homes instead of the $15 prints. The media and the Internet have played a part in raising interest in art and culture starting with artists grouping together and promoting local artists and the flavour of local art. Promoters are realizing art is a valuable commodity and organizing more and more art shows and exhibits, he said.

People buy metal patio sets and wrought iron decorations for their properties, but the store-bought items can’t compare to the workmanship and the longevity of the furniture and decor that comes out of the artist’s workshop, he said. That patio set, for example, could last 150 years and become a family heirloom.

There were blacksmiths in Myers’ family ancestry and perhaps that’s where he developed a love for working with metal after a more traditional career.

He doesn’t work just with metal but incorporates stone and wood in his creation.

A grand opening will be held later in the year.

from timestranscript.canadaeast.com

50th anniversary of Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs

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Finelli Iron & Stairs marks 50th anniversary at Solon headquarters

Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs, a family-owned manufacturer of custom-made wrought iron products and curved wood staircases, celebrated its 50th anniversary in business last week.

Since 1961 Finelli has evolved from a start-up business in a Bedford garage to a multi-million dollar company operating out of a state-of-the-art facility in Solon.

After originally immigrating to America in 1947 from Roseto Valfortore, Italy, Michael Finelli, Sr. eventually started Finelli Ornamental Iron as a way to provide for his family. Michael’s desire and strong work ethic laid the foundation for what has become an industry-leading company.

“What started out in 1961 as a business in my father’s garage has steadily grown and grown over the years and we are now very excited to be celebrating our 50th year in business,” said Frank Finelli, president of Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs.

After initially offering custom-made wrought iron products, in recent years Finelli has expanded to include a 5,000 square foot wood shop where expert carpenters craft curved grand staircases and trim products.

Over the years, Finelli has won numerous awards for its expertise and craftsmanship, including the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association’s prestigious Ernest Wiemann Top Job honor on several occasions.

“Finelli Architectural Iron & Stairs will continue to serve the people of Northeast Ohio and beyond from its headquarters on Solon Road,” Frank Finelli said.

from cleveland.com