Peter Happney was a college student in search of a summer job when he first came across blacksmithing. "I needed a job and a restoration village in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, had an opening in the blacksmith shop. I had taken a welding course in school, so we -- the museum curator and I -- figured it was close enough for summer work. I stayed on for seven years and learned the craft," Peter says with a broad smile.
There's no doubt that Peter loves being a blacksmith. The day DIY visited him, New England was sweltering under a historic heat wave, and yet Peter was hard at work creating a gate for a New York City church. "What? It's always hot in here. It's a blacksmith shop. Great here in the winter."
Surrounded by literally hundred of mean looking tools, Peter almost delicately crafts metal into items that are both utilitarian and artful. "I think the most satisfying thing about being a blacksmith is that we still make things that work for a good long time." While Peter makes chandeliers (figure A) that seem to float on air, he still takes great pride in the ironwork he forges for New England's fishing fleet. "Knowing that it works, and keeps on working, mean a lot to me."
Peter's sense of style and his ability to forge the unexpected, has taken him new directions. His signature chandeliers can be seen all along the New England Coast and his metal sculptures dot the landscape of New Hampshire. "I'm pleased that the Portsmouth Fire Department asked me to create that statue. Most people don't think of a blacksmith as doing that kind of work, but we can. And, I think blacksmith should be given the opportunity to show how the craft has evolved." Case in point, the giant ice cream cone in downtown Portsmouth that was forged in Peter's shop.
"I think this is a great time, for those who are interested, in considering blacksmithing. Iron is a great medium for personal expression. And, who else can bend metal with their bare hands?"
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