Hey Blog! This post is about two workshops I attended last weekend. Both were making workshops and they were in different materials. The first one, at the Museum of Making in Derby, was a blacksmithing afternoon.
I have, a very long time ago (in Home Ed at the Forge, January 24), told you about blacksmithing. That time, I was at the High Peak Junction forge making a poker. This time was making an ornament, an ammonite-esque spiral form, in a workshop delivered by the same smith that I met at the careers day last year (see Creative Careers, December 25), and made of rebar. This use of a material that is chosen because the pattens on it match the final form is something that seems so obvious, but I’d never have thought of. We were using the museum’s ceramic forge, which is very powerful and makes the metal really easy to work. I think I did well; the piece I made looks good and hangs very nicely as a necklace, though it’s quite heavy. It resembles another spiral pendant I have, that came out of a goodie bag years ago, and is an amazing design. I think before long I’ll be making some more, similar, and maybe I’ll finally make that forge in the garden we talked about before…
The second workshop was at the leathercraft fair they have every year. This is the shop the archaeology team got the pieces for the hnefatafl boards from, and I got a free spot because of this, being the team member who was interested in it and able to go. We were making a luggage tag, complete with rivets, buckle strap, and flap for reading the label. It was such a good experience, because the only leathercraft I’ve really done is tails for mice, a put-it-together-yourself card holder, and my phone purse that I designed myself. This pouch is lined and has a flap to hold it all together, and was until now the most progressed thing I’d made in this area, but adding some brass pins and buckle, as well as using some very nice red colour tanned leather, has instantly pushed the bar higher. I think I’ve got the hang of saddle stitch, the classic stitch for leather; I was even advancing the technique before everyone else in the workshop had really started. The premise of the workshop was that by using all the same techniques, you could make a belt or indeed anything out of leather. At the same event, I bought a strip of gold leather to make a fancy belt (and am now on the quest for a buckle) and some thick pale leather to practice with. I may expand the products I offer at sales to include coasters, bracelets and even more, if I continue to learn, so the future looks to be very interesting indeed!
