![]() ![]() MP: There are several guys that are working that I’m inspired by or at least stealing ideas from. Matt’s blacksmithing inspirationsīDF: Are there any blacksmiths that inspire you? I'm always learning and setting new goals. There's always a new avenue to pursue, a new skill set to achieve, and new ideas. That's where the inspiration came from, but as I got better at it and learned to control it, I found that I liked learning about metalworking in general. I'm still six years old on the inside wanting to do that. Sparks flew, and I thought, “I want to do that!” That has never really changed. I walked into a living history place, my dad threw me up on his shoulders, and I watched the blacksmith hit the steel. The first time I saw a blacksmith, I was six years old. MP: I like hitting stuff! There's no part of this I don't enjoy. The school can mostly cover all of the overhead of the building and the shop, which allows us the freedom to be more artistic.īDF: What is it about forging that you fell in love with? I can take on commissions that aren't necessarily profitable because I don't need that income to support the shop or my overhead. ![]() It gives me enough income to mostly do whatever I want in the shop. You do the thing, you get paid, and you're done. MP: From the business side of it, classes are nice because they are contained. It was awesome, and I got paid for it! It was an epiphany.īDF: That's great that you've been able to do it for so long. I spent all day talking about blacksmithing, and nobody shut me up. I remember the first class I taught, I was super nervous, but when it was over, I remember thinking it was so cool. He put a good word in for me, and I taught a couple of classes there. Peter had hooked me up with Brookfield Craft Center, which is where he used to teach. I remember the first time I taught I had just gotten married and was a little short on money. We spent all this money and then couldn’t do anything. So, we cleared a room, put some money into it, and made a teaching studio. We had been teaching in the shop for several years and decided to go all in on the teaching and make a studio. I do tend to over-schedule myself sometimes, which I need to stop doing. I like the fact that it pays for my travel. ![]() MP: I teach all over the country! Currently, the farthest I've gone is Arizona. Do you also have classes at Dragon’s Breath? We’ve been in business for eighteen years, but getting our footing definitely took a while.īDF: I know last week you were away teaching classes. Jamie was Peter's apprentice at the time, and he was able to finish his apprenticeship, so when we formed the company, we all came in as equal partners. At first, we were looking for a shop to move everybody into, but we moved into what was Peter's shop and expanded a bit. Then he had a client in the shop doing a lot of component ironwork. How about instead of competing with you, we join forces?” I said yes because it's a lot of work. Then, Peter, who I had taken a class with before, called me up and was like, “Hey, I'm going to start doing renaissance fairs. I was doing that at renaissance fairs for five or six years. MP: Before Dragon's Breath Forge and before Falling Hammer Productions, I had another shop named MP Metalworks. Breathing life into Dragon’s Breath ForgeīDF: How did Dragon’s Breath Forge begin? So, there's been a lot of smiths who have moved through Dragon's Breath Forge. Mareko Maumasi joined for a couple of years after Michael left. Michael Coffey was a member of the shop for many years. There have been a few others come through that worked with us. RELATED: INTERVIEW WITH BLADESMITH MATTEW BERRY It's really just Dragon's Breath Forge now. At which point, we completely shut down the ironworks part of the company. Then we ran that company together until Peter left for Hawaii in 2018. So, Jamie, Peter Burt, and I started Dragon's Breath Forge when we started our ironwork company, Falling Hammer Productions, in 2005. Those are a few of my favorite things.īDF: And you work out of Dragon’s Breath Forge primarily, right? But I really like making swords and chef's knives, and I have been chasing some ideas in pattern welding. Sometimes it seems like the thing I'm working on is not the thing I want to be working on. MP: It varies depending on what I'm working on. ![]()
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