Rose Tree Bird Feed Hangers

Rose Tree Bird feeders

Rose tree bird feeder hangers, designed and made for a client's garden. The trees have hooks attached on which to hang nut and seed dispensers or fat spheres. The sizes are approx 6ft tall x 2'6" wide and are galvanized and etched for protection and to give an 'old lead' finish

For further information contact me at growingmetal@aol.com

website: www.andrew-findlay.com

The not-obvious gate latch

When making nature-inspired gates I like to get the gate hardware to co-ordinate with the rest of the design. Quite successful here I think

You can see numerous gates and doors on our website 

www.andrew-findlay.com

get in touch: growingmetal@aol.com

07974873123

Waterlily bowl in forged bronze

I visited one of my waterlily bowls today while measuring up at a client's house. Always a challenge to make as you can lose them after hours of work with a moment's inattention but I love making them. They are hot forged from silicon bronze sheet and can vary in size from 14" diameter to 9" diameter



www.andrew-findlay.com

growingmetal@aol.com

The London Haven revisited

This was an interesting project made some years ago for the Haven breast cancer support centre, Effe Road, Fulham. It is a mixed metal piece combining a distressed zinc finish with stainless steel gingko biloba ornament. I revisited the project recently and am happy to say it is looking good and has not been vandalised in any way. The Haven continues to do fantastic work

Ginkgo leaves in forged stainless steel

One of a pair of railing panels 

www.andrew-findlay.com

growingmetal@aol.com

Fireside set in two metals

Fireside set

 Still warm from the forge!   I thought it would be interesting to combine bronze and steel in this fireside set. All the tools have an oak leaf motif, as does the stand, which also has ivy twining around the centre. 

The ivy is made from polished silicon bronze to provide contrast. I have addressed the design problems normally associated with these sets, all the tools are comfortable to use, the hooks are generous so the tools hang securely and the base is stable with a compact footprint. 

The whole set can be moved easily using the hook at the top.

www.andrew-findlay.com

growingmetal@aol.com

Garden Shelter with style!!!

I really love this characterful corrugated iron shelter, it is at Portmeirion, the surreal village in North Wales designed by Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. I am thinking of building something similar for our garden and possibly making them to commission. Perhaps I would omit the more recently added top crest, what do you think? Comments appreciated!!

See my work at www.andrew-findlay.com
Contact me at:  growingmetal@aol.com

Season of the Green Man!!!

Tribute in forged steel

www.andrew-findlay.com

Everything's bursting into life at this time of year, the intense green of new leaves and grasses create an acid palette of colour all over the countryside. The mysterious Green Man symbolises all this. He is to be found in ancient Churches and Minsters all over Europe, usually carved in stone or wood, a discreet reminder of our Pagan past 

This piece is a tribute formed from steel using ancient blacksmithing techniques.

See more of my work at www.andrew-findlay.com or email me at

growingmetal@aol.com

I just found this from last Autumn, a group of seed pod sculptures in their natural habitat!!

www.andrew-findlay.com

Bronze components

Some forged bronze components during assembly I am working on at the moment. These will form part of a panel for an interior door

www.andrew-findlay.com

Obelisks!!

We recently made four monumental garden obelisks for a client in Hampshire. They are 2.4m high and made of solid steel, not tube, so took four people to move them into position. Looking forward to seeing them planted up! Here they are in the workshop before finishing.

Monumental obelisks

Have a look at more of our garden work here

growingmetal@aol.com
07874 873123

Hand forged steel and copper interior gates

 www.andrew-findlay.com

Earlier on in the year were asked to make 3 pairs of interior gates for french windows at a house in Chelsea that we have been supplying for many years. The primary purpose is to keep the dogs in but we think they look great too!

Steel and copper interior gate

 www.andrew-findlay.com

The gate is in hand forged and textured steel with individually made copper roses.

www.andrew-findlay.com

The gates match the curtain poles, exterior balustrading, door furniture and lighting that co-ordinate as part of the design scheme of the house.

Art Nouveau Gates

We recently installed some gates for a mansion in the Cotswolds, lots of blackmsithing involved and an interesting distressed copper patina applied. They are inspired by the work of art nouveau blacksmith Emile Robert

www.andrew-findlay.com

Above shows the gates in the workshop before finishing,

and installed

www.andrew-findlay .com

I have been working on an interesting commission for over 10 months, and it is just being completed.

The project involved a lot of co-ordinating metalwork in a large house in Chelsea.
This included 9 interior safety gates, 26 very elaborate curtain poles, many smaller items such as window and door handles, and a rose balustrade with a patinated bronze finish in the garden.

Rose balustrade detail

The garden itself has been beautifully designed and has a magical fairy tale quality about it..

Rose Balustrade www.andrew-findlay.com

Next up I will be making some grape vine gates in the Art Nouveau style for a Cotswold mansion.

Colour at last?

Over the last 35 years due to an aversion to the ubiquitous black paint on decorative ironwork, I have experimented with a few finishes on forged metals. The most satisfactory to date had been my 'old lead' finish which combines excellent protection and a super matt, mottled grey appearance that I love.

Many examples can be seen at www.andrew-findlay.com. There are however situations where intense colour would be wholly appropriate, but I have struggled to find a sufficiently durable and lasting method of coloration. Until now.

I have discovered a method of applying vitreous enamel to stainless steel which opens up a whole new world of painterly effects. Enamel is essentially a layer of molten glass which has adhered to the metal. The glass is coloured by the addition of metal oxides. and fused to the metal by heat.

Below is a sample of enamelled copper.

Watch this space for further developments.. 

Out of the blue, I recently received a request to demonstrate the craft of blacksmithing at The Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennesse. This is a great honour as the Museum has a similar status to the V&A museum here in the UK.

This came about from three work colleagues and friends who are members of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths putting my name forward for the Forging on the River event.
I'm sure it will be an unforgettable experience, and I will post a report on my return!!

See details of the Forging on the River event here


Also, a new sculpture exhibition for us, 'Elegance and Form' The Wyndcliffe Court spring sculpture show. The exhibition runs from Friday 3rd of April to Sunday 21st of June. The venue is 3miles south of Tintern, Monmouthshire

Click here for full details

This is an image of one of our exhibits in the walled garden.

Filligree arch and Planters

After 3 years, its so good to get some feedback!

Whats's happening at The Forge? Well we have recently received some amazing images of a job we completed in Dubai, below is a sample:

These are filligree doors to the customer's wine cellar, red on the left, white on the right. All in all we spent three and a half years on this project and I am very pleased with the finished result. We made eighty four window grilles in forged fig and seed pod design, 2 x 4m diameter domes for the roofs of the towers, many sets of doors and the crowning glory were the main entrance doors forged from solid bronze, along with a matching 3m square window.

This image looks up into the tower to the dome at the top.

Main entrance doors

Just a small sample of the work done which included staircases and many square metres of balustrading.

Next post will be about our historic forge and a new beautiful woodland forge we are setting up for courses!

Voysey Hinges

2013 ended well with an interesting commission from a client who had a remarkable collection of Arts and Crafts furniture and artifacts. A beautiful wardrobe had been made by a cabinet maker which required some elaborate bronze hinges in the style of CM Voysey. Mr Voysey was well known for using hearts and birds as ornament and these hinges are no exception

Bronze was the material of choice, and it took many hours to give the four hinges the required look. The details were all hand cut with a piercing saw and the body forged to shape including the hinge eyes and plates. They are approx. 18" long and shown here before dark brown patination had been applied.

Other work in bronze here

Hello everyone and welcome to Andrew Findlay's blog!

We are based at The Old Forge, Eastnor, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR81RD. Telephone is 01531 634999

Here you will be able to read about what's happening at Eastnor Forge including events such as demonstrations and open days, what we make, how it's done and importantly what inspires us. But first a bit of background.

I started work as a self employed Artist Blacksmith in 1985, working from a tin shed with very little equipment. As my skill level grew  I started getting enquiries from interior designers based locally who wanted something different for their projects. Eventually as word spread about my work I started getting enquiries from top design firms in London such as Sedley Place Ltd, Fox Linton Associates, Sybil Colefax and John Fowler amongst others, and ended up making both interior and exterior work for their high profile clients in the Music, Media and Hospitality industries. My style of work has always been inspired by nature and tends to feature plant forms, both realistic and abstract. See it in detail HERE

I have always made smaller pieces to sell direct  to the public, and these include fire irons, bowls, hooks, and a good range of garden planters and small sculptures as well as a very popular garden bench design.

We have also been supplying top floor and fabric company Roger Oates Design with stair rods for their runners for many years.

Please feel free to contact me here with any questions or enquiries

Thanks for visiting

Andrew