I’ve always loved playing with fire! Seriously, when we were kids, me and my brothers loved going round to my Dad’s because he always seemed to have a bonfire, and we’d spend ages finding things to burn on it. I’ve also always been artistic. At school I discovered I enjoyed making things, so it seemed inevitable I’d find something creative – and physical – to do. In the movies and on telly, blacksmithing looks romantic – all that heat, banging, sweat and smoke – putting it to use to make something – it was definitely quite appealing.
I love my job. I really enjoy the satisfaction of doing a hard day's work, coming home feeling tired and looking forward to my dinner, and feeling glad that I’ve made something and that hopefully somebody, somewhere will like it.
How did you get into the trade, and how long did it take to learn? After college I applied to be an apprentice
welder at Jim Lawrence and I’ve been here ever since. That was 13 years ago now. Since then, I’ve learnt most of the processes we do at JL – welding, machine shop, fabrication, antiquing, wiring, working in the warehouse – I've even worked in
soft furnishings helping to make shades when they were short staffed!
I loved the idea of working in the forge, but at the time they had a blacksmith, Andy. He started teaching me the craft and I helped him out whenever I could. Tom then joined us and became a bit of a mentor. I really learnt a lot from him. When he left to start his own smithing business, I took over.
What is a typical day like in the forge? I come in early, about 7am, get the forge lit and make a cup of tea. The forge is gas fired, so takes about 20 minutes to get hot. I check my job list, find the jigs I need and get to work. The rest of the team arrive not long after me. I go through the list to see what needs to be done and work out what order I’ll do it. It’s pretty much left to me to order my day, so I’ll always prioritise items that are on a customer order and then divide the rest of the day up so I have a mix of challenging items and easier options.
Are the techniques you use today different from historical smithing?
No, the craft is essentially the same – heating things up, hitting them, bending them, straightening them. There’s a forge and an anvil, a hammer, tongs, jigs - same as there always has been. The only difference is that modern gas forges are far more efficient. Some blacksmiths still use a coal fired forge, but most use gas as it is quicker and cleaner.
What JL products do you make?
There are so many –
door knockers like the
Westley, finials like the
Spear and
Crooks,
door hooks, the decorative scrolling on the
Charlecote lanterns, and
Millfield Wall Light,
door pulls,
hold backs. I also forge brass which is really tricky – we make pieces like the
Felsham bracket and S hooks for the utility rails.
Can you describe the steps involved in blacksmithing? The process is basically the same with all products. You get the metal, heat it up in the forge until it’s the right colour – yellow hot for beating and orange hot for bending – you take it out, hammer it into shape on the anvil, put it back into the forge to heat up again, take it out to bend it, maybe heat it up again to tweak it and so on until it is ready to cool down on a cooling tray and taken off elsewhere in the workshop to be finished. It's all done by eye and experience. No two pieces are exactly the same, so you have to learn how to judge it.
Can you tell us about a time when you’ve had to troubleshoot a problem? I troubleshoot all the time. Whenever a customer needs some
bespoke work done - say to shorten or lengthen the shade arm on a wall or pendant light - I need to think about how to do it. I’ll often make a sketch with engineering chalk to help me work it out in my head. Sometimes I’ll run it past one or two of the team, but mostly I do it myself.
Like many of our makers at Jim Lawrence, it must be rewarding to be making something creative with your hands – though very hard work! What is the most challenging JL product to create? Well, you’d be surprised to learn, it isn’t always the
biggest or most intricate pieces that are the most difficult. Some of the smallest, like the decorative supports on our curtain pole brackets are challenging because they are small and have two forged ends, so it takes time to get them the right shape. We’ve recently started forging brass which is very tricky. I’m still learning how to do it. Brass is softer than steel and has to be just at the right temperature, not too hot, or else it melts, and not too cold otherwise it splinters and breaks. That’s challenging!
And your favourite product to make? I enjoy making the scrolled arm on the
Millfield Wall Light. There is something very satisfying about hammering and folding the 30 x 10mm steel back onto itself, rounding off the edges and bending the snub ends into shape. It’s hard work and needs to be heated 3 times, but it I really enjoy it.
Do you have any input into the design process and products you make? Yes, sometimes someone will come up to me with an idea they’ve had for a new product and ask me what I think and if I can make it. When we launched our
garden planters, it was Sheena (Lawrence) who showed me pictures of the kind of supports and planters she wanted in brass, and I worked out how we could do it. Thinking these things through and getting creative in the forge is always great fun.
We are very lucky to be able to preserve this traditional way of making. Why do you think people love to know that their products are handmade? I don’t know, maybe they like knowing that someone has spent time and consideration over their product. They like the idea that blacksmithing is a craft that is still very much alive and they can appreciate the skill and effort that goes into making our products. No two are the same when they are handcrafted, and there is something very special about seeing the hammer marks and strokes on a piece of metal – it tells a story.
Finally, many of our employees have been at JL for a long time - what is the best part of working for a family business like JL? I like that there is always good camaraderie with the team. They are good friends. You feel heard – and trusted to get on with things - which is important. I like the fact that Jim (Lawrence), the man whose name is on the door, is still involved. He’s often in the workshop taking an interest in what’s going on.
