We had a lot of fun and met a lot of people today. Some great conversations about creative collaborations, blacksmithing memories and experiences, future custom orders, and encouragement for our art and craft.

Tamaki had her full button workshop set up and Dave was forging knife blades from reclaimed farm equipment using our handmade reclaimed softwood charcoal. Thank you to Rose-Ellen Graham for inviting us to be part of the celebration.

coombs100.com

This began as a quick display case project to prepare for this summer’s markets and outdoor demos. However, it soon became an art and design challenge when the latch lever idea began to materialize. The driftwood legs contrast with the cedar and glass to add some west coast flair and really bring the piece to life.

Thanks to some reclaimed red cedar and antique copper nails, this newly built display case looks like a repurposed old drawer with a lock on it. The plate is chiseled out of reclaimed sheet scrap and the key is hand forged scrap bar stock. The box is about 20″ by 21″, the stand is 19″ high, and the key is about 4.5″ long.

Material: Reclaimed steel scrap, antique copper nails, reclaimed glass, red cedar, driftwood
Price: a similar item would be $3500
Available: this item is in use

As a trial run for some regular summer possibilities, we will be doing an outdoor blade forging and button making demo at Morningstar Farm. Morningstar Farm is a working dairy, and is home to a cheeseworks, winery, and the Farmgate store. It is located on Lowry’s Road just off Church Road in Parksville.

Sunday we will be set up near the horses with a live blacksmithing demo from 11am to about 3:00pm. Come and check out our handmade reclaimed softwood charcoal and say hello. Thank you to Clarke and Nancy for inviting us to be part of the farm activity.

Morningstar Farm
Little Qualicum Cheeseworks
Mooberry Winery
Phone: (250) 954-3931
403 Lowry’s Road
Parksville, BC [map]

morningstarfarm.ca

See the event photos here: French Creek Event at Coombs

This weekend we will be part of a three day event called, “Coombs Celebrates ‘French Creek Community School’s 100th Anniversary.’” French Creek School has been a hub of community and learning for the past hundred years and is located next to Coastal Carvings and French Creek.

Saturday we will be set up in the top field behind the school with a live blacksmithing demo from 10am to about 3:30pm. We will be using our handmade reclaimed softwood charcoal to fuel the forge. Thank you to Rose-Ellen Graham for inviting us to be part of the celebration.

French Creek Community School
2350 Alberni Hwy. PO Box 160, Coombs, V0R 1M0
[map]

coombs100.com
French Creek Elementary History

Gorgeous Vancouver Island weather made it tempting to hit the beach today, but many folks were kind enough to stop by and see our work at the Craig Heritage Park and Museum grand opening. It was nice to hear stories of blacksmith memories and share some of the history behind the tools we use.

Tamaki enjoyed demonstrating her process for creating handmade metal button objets d’art and Davej was happy to explain how we make our handmade reclaimed softwood charcoal while hammering some harrow teeth into hand forged knife blades.

We also used the forge to melt down soda pop cans and aluminum foil to pour aluminum button blanks for Tamaki. One of the young people in attendance were recruited to turn the crank for the hand powered air blower to feed the fire. A spontaneous collaborative work was the result of a local copper artist generous enough to cross the rope and share his skills with a hammer and anvil.

Craig Heritage Park and Museum features many original buildings and artifacts from the past couple of centuries. Located just south of Parksville on the old Island Highway, it is an excellent way to connect with some of the history, relics, and past lifestyle of the mid-island area.

The grand opening is on Saturday, May 12, 2012 and begins at 11am. Regular museum hours are 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm, May 1 to Sept 30.

Craig Heritage Park and Museum
1245 East Island Highway, Parksville, BC [map]
(250) 248-6966
parksvillemuseum.ca

See the event photos here: Craig Heritage Park and Museum Demo

Craig Heritage Park and Museum features many original buildings and artifacts from the past couple of centuries. Located just south of Parksville on the old Island Highway, it is an excellent way to connect with some of the history, relics, and past lifestyle of the mid-island area.

This Saturday will be the grand opening and special event to recognize the official name, dedicate a newly restored building, and officially open the antique quilt exhibit. There will be food, exclusive exhibits, and many new artifacts and displays to start off the 2012 season.

Crossed Heart Forge will be on site to add some excitement and activity for the attendees of the official season opening. Tamaki will be demonstrating her process for creating handmade metal button objet d’art and Davej will have the fire going to shape some red hot steel. We will be using our handmade reclaimed softwood charcoal to fuel the forge. Thank you to Buddy Williams for inviting us to be part of the celebration.

The grand opening is on Saturday, May 12, 2012 and begins at 11am. Regular museum hours are 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm, May 1 to Sept 30.

Craig Heritage Park and Museum
1245 East Island Highway, Parksville, BC [map]
(250) 248-6966
parksvillemuseum.ca

Another batch of beautiful handmade metal buttons that invite you to experience their hand hammered textures. Polish and patina play off one another in brass, copper, and aluminum. Each work of art is carefully cut, filed, sanded, forged, and polished to create unique patterns and textures and in various sizes and shapes.

Made one at a time by hand with human powered tools and a hearty serving of love, these buttons are exclusively created by Tamaki in very limited numbers. They are warm and weighty with the variety of lines and shapes that can only come from hand work. One of the major themes of her work is intentional avoidance of the cold geometric lines and mechanized symmetry that our industrialized eyes have grown weary of.

The style and finish of her handmade buttons is reminiscent of Edo era currency in Japan. Creative uses for these objets d’art include oversized buttons for fashion and textiles, netsuke type lanyards or fobs, jewellery or accent pieces, and collectible original works. The final polishing is done with charcoal dust and they are lightly finished with a buffed beeswax coating. Sizes range from 2cm to 5cm. Less than an inch is considered a small size.

Material: Reclaimed brass door push plates, reclaimed copper water pipe and scrap, reclaimed aluminum scrap
Price: please inquire
Available: 10 assorted

Read about Tamaki’s process: How A Button Is Made

Some of our local Vancouver Island wood and reclaimed copper complete this Japanese kitchen style blade. Entirely reclaimed materials are mounted in the traditional Japanese manner with a single bamboo peg holding the parts together. The rich combination of colours gives warmth and life to the forged steel blade.

The handle was fashioned from a piece of arbutus driftwood and pinned with bamboo, the saya is a piece of Western Red Cedar saved from the charcoal retort and has a retaining peg whittled from a scrap of ebony.

The clay tempered blade was hand forged from a piece of reclaimed harrow tooth and carefully finished using files and water stones in order to preserve the hammer and fire texture on one side. Blade construction is muku and the cross section is a single bevel sharpened with a koba edge. The copper collar is shaped, brazed, and finished by hand, and the inside of the sheath is carved with a chisel to accept the blade. The handle and saya have been hand sanded and coated with pure tung oil for a totally natural finish. The blade is about 5″ long and the overall length is 10.25″.

Material: Reclaimed harrow tooth steel, copper, arbutus driftwood, red cedar, reclaimed bamboo from Japan
Price: $450
Available: 1 [Shop Online]

These handmade metal buttons invite you to hold them and enjoy their hand hammered textures. Beautifully patinated brass, copper, and aluminum are carefully cut, filed, sanded, forged, and polished to create unique buttons in various sizes and shapes. Each button is made one at a time by hand with human powered tools and a hearty serving of love. Created by Tamaki, they are characteristic of her recent artwork that intentionally avoids the cold geometric lines and mechanized symmetry that our industrialized eyes grow weary of.

The style and finish is reminiscent of Edo era currency in Japan and creative uses range from oversized buttons for fashion and textiles to netsuke type lanyards to jewellery and accent pieces. The final polishing is done with charcoal dust and they are lightly finished with a buffed beeswax coating. Sizes range from 2cm to 5cm. Less than an inch is considered a small size.

Material: Reclaimed brass door push plates, reclaimed copper water pipe, reclaimed aluminum scrap
Price: please inquire
Available: 8 assorted

Read about Tamaki’s process: How A Button Is Made

Hori Hori is a Japanese onomatopoeia that roughly translates to, “dig dig”. The hori hori knife is designed to be a cross between a blade and a shovel and is traditionally used to harvest wild mountain vegetables. This hybrid leans more towards the shovel side but has a slim, straight profile, inline handle, and rough edges for tearing. Light and compact, they are the perfect companion tool for tending bonsai or small indoor or outdoor gardens.

The raw material for these was left over from a batch of Tamaki’s handmade metal buttons. Aluminum bar is chisel cut and hand hammered cold for strength and joined with handmade aluminum rivets to form a sturdy, weather proof tool. Blade widths are about 1.5″ and overall lengths vary between 7″ and 11″.

Material: Reclaimed aluminum scrap bar and rod
Price: $75 each
Available: 8 in assorted sizes