‘ the roles of blacksmith and farrier, wheelwright and carpenter, veterinary surgeon and dentist as well as being master of any other work that required making and mending metal artefacts. Over the years, like many traditional crafts, the laborious work of the smithy was taken over by machines, and there are now only a small number of working blacksmith forges in operation. Amongst the small number of blacksmithing businesses which have managed to succeed is Made by the Forge, a family-run firm at Willisham, near Ipswich, which over the last 20 years has combined traditional materials and techniques of the forge with a modern design approach to create high-quality crafted ironwork for interiors. Back in 1993 Richard Fishenden started a four-year apprenticeship in horse shoeing, learning from an old school master craftsman how to work metal and how to work with horses. Richard recalls: ‘Whilst we were renovating our family home, my wife Juliet and
“We wanted to create a range of beautiful contemporary lights that strongly reflect the core values of Made by the Forge - classic, high quality, honest, made to last and sustainable.”
I developed a range of handmade iron products to furnish the interior. This led to many commissions for further work; it was the handmade quality that people loved - you can even see the individual hammer marks made by the blacksmith.’ The products that Richard and Juliet have designed and created include solid wrought iron curtain poles, kitchen utensil racks, door handles, towel rails and rings and most recently a range of lighting, all created with a passion for quality
and a desire to produce useful products that will last a lifetime. Earlier in 2015 Made by the Forge unveiled a project which involved working with contemporary British designers to produce a range of unique ‘Farrier’s Cage’ interior lights, now sold by Heals department store on Tottenham Court Road in London. Says Richard: “We wanted to create a range of beautiful contemporary lights that strongly reflect the core values of Made by the Forge - classic, high quality, honest, made to last and sustainable.” Many of the ironwork designs they produce are inspired by nature, but created with a balance of both form and function, so that the end product is a distinctive yet practical artefact for the home. The pieces are finished in
Shining examples . . . shop for similar lights to those shown above at Heal’s www.heals.com/lighting
either matt black or locally- sourced beeswax, and their sustainable business approach follows through to a commitment to plant a tree for each product they make, to offset CO2 . The bespoke approach to
creating unique items is
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