Blacksmithery...Why the Hell not?

My friend Beth, who is a wood worker, asked me if I could make a specific wood turning tool for her. See she needed a tool for turning out wooden bowls, cups, etc. After showing me a picture of what she needed, I agreed to think about it.

Having never really attempted this before, I was a little apprehensive about the whole process. See, Blacksmithery, is the process of forging iron or steel into objects. This is done by using tools to hammer, bend or cut the metal while extremely hot. This seemed to be a daunting task, but what the hell, I'll give it a shot.

First, I needed a proper hammer, to figure out my heat and to dust off the old anvil. Then I began my learning experience. After a couple test runs, and a lot of hammering... this is what I came up with. Check it out. You might just say it "turned" out well. Ha ha, sorry for the bad pun... I couldn't resist.

Thanks for taking a look. For more info on Blacksmithery, check out www.anvilfire.com

Theft and Necessity

At this point, the work is starting to roll in and become a bit more steady. This is a nice feeling. So, one morning I walk out to my truck to go pick up supplies... and then a not so nice feeling comes over me. I can't find my truck. Did I forget where I parked it? I mean, that is a possibility. I walk to the other side of my building... still no truck. Dammit! Walk back over to where I originally thought it was parked and then I see what happened...

Just like many times before, riding my bike through the rough neighborhood in which I live in good ol' Philadelphia. You have to watch out for the all too often broken bottle or... piles of broken window glass from a car that used to be there. My Truck, has been STOLEN! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

Apparently the night before a bunch of cars on my street were vandalized and stolen. My truck being one of them. So I called the cops and filled out the report. Nothing else I could do. The officer that took my report said I would probably get it back, just not in the same condition. I.E. totally screwed up.

So I waited a few days, decided to start looking for it on my own, with no luck. After about a week I decided to move on and start looking for another. As soon as I made peace with It being gone...I got a phone call. They found my truck! Turns out whoever stole it, decided to return it a half block away from my building. Weird huh?

When I picked it up, I was surprised that it wasn't in that bad of shape. They broke the driver side window and stabbed my center console with a screwdriver about 50 times when they couldn't get the CD player out. Jerks. But that was about it. Oh they also stole my old school B&M hot rod shift knob and the original(it was in the glove box). Turns out that finding a shift knob for a Toyota pickup in a junkyard in Philly is impossible.


So after cleaning up all the glass, replacing the window and piecing together my stabbed and broken console... I was still short a shift knob. Time to fabricate. In homage to my old shift knob, I decided to do something classic and made out of steel. So here it is:

It's my new handmade custom hollow steel Black Die shift knob. Looks cool and I think it makes my truck faster too!

A Learning Experience

The Solar-powered bike rack project for Honey's took some doing. Once all the details were worked out and the project was rolling along...I definitely hit some bumps along the way. Little things that you don't realize are gonna take forever...do. Mistakes are inevitable and progress is key. I learned a lot about procedure and technique. The right way of doing things and the infinite amount of possibilities that the proper tools offer.

I made sculpture for art sake in college and it was fun. But making form to suit function in a creative way is awesome! Designing work on paper and then making it real is quite a rewarding feeling for me. I love making things.

After countless hours, coffee breaks and lots of hard work...Here is the final outcome. please take a look.

First, the "Spiral".



























Notice the details at each end of the spiral.




























































Next is the "Grid". Also notice that they have been powder coated clear to keep that raw metal feel and so they can patina.


I really like this piece. It turned out exactly how I envisioned it.

Here's the face...
and the display base.


Then the "Cactus". I like the proportions on this one. It's simple and tall and it's all in the details.
Finally, all three in a row. They look nice all lined up, especially when they are loaded with bikes. Soon I'll post some pics of them lit up at night, so you can see them in full effect. Please go check em' out next time you're up that way. If you like, leave a comment and let me know what you think . Thanks.

Flying or Falling?

Now that I had declared independence...What do I do with myself? The hardest thing to adjust to, was being constructive on my own time. At first I thought "This is AWESOME! I can do whatever I want!". That's the nice thing about being your own boss. Yup it's awesome alright, until you realize you have no work. That's the weird thing. I've never had to depend on myself to find work before. Don't get me wrong, I've been doing freelance for years, but never without a "day job". It's always been extra cash. Now it's paying the bills.

Since I didn't have any work, and no real direction other that a skill set...I wasn't really making the most of this venture. To bide my time and figure some things out while trying to find creative work, I took on a few odd jobs. They varied from working on friend's houses, bike work, to a day or two here and there working for my Pop as an electrician. Luckily, my Dad has taught me a lot in my lifetime so far, I find myself very capable of finding work. Especially when it comes to house repair and restoration. See I was my Dad's helper(whether I wanted to or not) as a kid. I'm glad this was the case, because I learned plenty working on my parent's house.

About a month had gone by, doing odd jobs and sorting out my situation, and then BAM! Around mid-March 2008 I found my first job. While talking to my friends over at Honey's, the topic of bike racks, or lack there of, came up. They needed bike racks desperately. I'm a bike rider, and going there on the weekends, sometimes I would have to park two blocks away. After some discussion and some sketches, this project was set in motion.

Honey's Sit n' Eat is at 800 N.th 4th street in Philadelphia. It's a tasty place to eat, in a changing neighborhood called "Northern Liberties". Which once was an Industrial fallout zone, now is a bustling hood full of energy. A long time Philadelphian once described it to me "It was like an abandoned movie set. Because after 4pm, once the few workers left for the day...nothing but silence. Just scenery.". Honey's is on the corner of 4th and Brown. 4th street has a bus stop on it, so Brown street was the best location for these new racks.


First the number of racks were chosen, "3" and then the actual form. We had talked about different concepts and design aspects of this project. Deciding on an Industrial feel with some organic properties. This best matched the "feel" of the neighborhood and the "style" of the restaurant. The three concepts decided upon were a Spiral, with the properties of Pi built in. A Cactus, and a Grid of sorts. The "Grid" is the centerpiece with organic placement and flow. Book-ended by the "Cactus" and "Spiral".

To top off these racks, no pun intended, is a brand spanking new idea. Solar- powered, lit menu displays mounted on top of each rack. The two outside racks have an 8 1/2" x 11" viewing area, while the center rack has a larger 11" x 17" viewing area. These not only will be used for menu viewing, but also for advertising, artist awareness and community bulletins. They are linked to a solar panel on the roof of Honey's, which was installed just for this project. Honey's Sit N' Eat, strives as a business to be sustainable and as earth friendly as possible. With This project they are moving one step closer.















I was really excited about this project. I had a lot of free reign when it came to concept and design. I was totally excited when the owners decided to go with my solar-powered lit menu display idea, as well as the designs themselves. This was a worthwhile project that took some time doing. It allowed me to combine design and technology into one earth friendly social purpose. I was very happy with the outcome. Final pics of the installed pieces are to come soon.

Taking the Leap

Jan. 2, 2008. While on my winter vacation of sorts...after several days of thought about my current situation, I decided to take the leap. Finally go out on my own and see what happens. It was time to do the unthinkable and QUIT MY JOB! I set up a meeting with my boss the following day. We spoke, discussed my decision, came to a somewhat amicable agreement and I gave him a very fair 6 weeks to sort things out.


I can't tell you how good that felt. Not the quiting part, or the leaving my job part, but the not knowing what's about to happen next part. I felt like a fresh new person on an adventure. Immediately, I began to think about what to do next. I started to sketch ideas, take inventory and write down plans for the coming year. I was excited!!! Didn't quite know how I was going to make money exactly, but that didn't matter. I just had to stay positive and put the word out there.

OK, so now I'm ready. Ready for the real world. I've got some savings and all the tools I need to be creative. Time to turn my then sparse freelance into a full-time gig. I've got my art studio space for computer, drawing, painting and design. I also have my shop space for making loud noise, bad smells, fire and brimstone. I've got the know how and varied experience. Now all I needed was some work...