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Lifestyle Archive

18 July

‘How to…’ helpful videos by Made by the Forge

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Here at Made by the Forge, we pride ourselves on the excellence of our handcrafted products so it makes perfect sense to use video to show our customers the best way to get our curtain poles and shelving up to make your windows and walls stand out. Once again we invited filmmaker Alan Miller to shoot and produce our videos. He has over thirty-five years of experience in the film and television industry and it’s great to have the benefit of his knowledge.

We put aside half a day to shoot three videos. Any one who’s been involved with these sorts of projects knows that it’s never as easy as the finished video appears. It helps enormously that Richard is very relaxed on camera, a one-take wonder even. Alan is a one-man production outfit but he’s not gifted as a hair and make up artist, so you’re getting Richard as Richard, no frills. He’s always ready for his close up.

The three videos are straightforward enough. How to (1) Put Up A Curtain Pole, (2) Put Up A Recess Pole and (3) Put Up A Made by the Forge Shelf. We hope you find them useful. How To videos online can be enormously helpful and even encourage you to do the work yourself. We hope ours are short, to the point and informative.

blacksmith, handcrafted, How to videos, Ironwork, Putting up a curtain pole, Putting up a recess curtain pole, putting up a shelf From the Forge - News, Interiors, Lifestyle, Style tips Leave a Comment

12 July

Fire Pits made by Blacksmiths

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of the lighter evenings and to choose carefully considered pieces for your own space outside. Al fresco social occasions always need a focal point, a literal campfire around which to gather for warmth and the promise of a well-branded steak and sausage, real or vegetarian.

Made by the Forge has the perfect fire pits for any occasion. First is the top of the line model with an astonishing capacity of sixty sausages… The Entertainer, with a massive diameter of 75cm, is the roaring heavyweight of our fire pit range. It’s also a thing of beauty on its much more than sturdy stands. There are two height options available depending on the outdoor space in which you entertain. This colossus throws out winter-warming temperatures as well as providing a whole dinner party’s outdoor cooking needs.

If you don’t need to feed the masses and if you want a more portable choice to accompany you on camping adventures, then look no further than The Glamper. This more portable option has a diameter of 50cm but it’s no less fierce as a heat provider. Like its big brother, it has a choice of two heights depending on how you like to cook and warm yourself at home with the family or while under the stars.

Both fire pits show off Made by the Forge’s rigorous attention to detail and unmatched craftsmanship. Make this summer one to remember.

The heat is on.

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13 March

Kitchen Trends in Homes & Gardens

Written by Juliet Fishenden

As a manufacturer of designer, lighting, Made by the Forge acknowledges trends in the interiors industry. The word ‘trendy’ is sometimes used derogatively as much as it is simply describing something of current popularity. Trendy is by definition impermanent, fleeting and in some fashion, the very opposite of the hot forged, designer lighting which we guarantee will last a lifetime. But given that, it is very satisfying to find out that the Farrier’s Cage Five Bar Long, designed by Anthony Dickens is, ‘trending’!

In this month’s issue of Homes and Gardens, there’s a long feature on Kitchen Trends for 2018. Kitchens have always been the home’s beating heart, warm and inviting, a place to socialise, a place to create. Well, nothing says contemporary like the Farrier’s Cage Five Bar Long and there it is, front and centre on pages 148 and 149 of the quality interiors magazine. To see the full article click the link here.

The overarching trend, the general theme of the article states that “This season’s sharpest kitchens are going incognito – the latest schemes seamlessly blend functionality with the look of a contemporary living space.” This says to me that the kitchen has become just as important as any other room in the house on which to stamp a personalised statement. With its right foot in the traditional blacksmith past and its left on the cutting edge, The Farrier’s Cage Five Bar Long is perfect for such a space. Long may it trend!

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21 June

Handmade Curtains and Blinds

Written by Juliet Fishenden

If you are looking for a curtain or blind maker, then you’ve come to the right place. Despite one of our customers saying that it’s “…almost a shame to hang the curtains on them, the rods look so good as they are,” our curtain poles are crafted with curtains in mind. And we are thrilled to be working with one of the best curtain makers out there.

Natalie Canning has a passion for exquisite window treatments. She is a renowned specialist in the design and creation of beautiful, unique curtains, blinds and soft furnishings. She founded Natalie Canning, The Soft Furnishing Experts in 2005 and has developed a reputation for her ability and dedication to the craft.

Natalie is continually working with Made by the Forge as her customers love the clean lines and simplicity of our made to measure iron poles. Richard often creates bespoke brackets to accommodate the unusual shapes and dimensions of the windows Natalie has to work with.

Traditional skills and expertise form the cornerstone of every project Natalie undertakes. She works with the finest fabrics, a talented close knit team of seamstresses and exacting standards. This commitment and devotion ensures beautiful results every time.

If you want to arrange a consultation contact Natalie at https://nataliecanning.co.uk/pages/contact-us

Make a window, make a room!

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10 February

The Forge Shelf Brackets

Written by Juliet Fishenden

New Product Launch – The Forge Shelf Brackets

There is something extremely satisfying about robust, reliable shelving and a shelf’s best friend is what it’s supported by. Made by the Forge’s Forge Shelf Bracket is a product that conveys simplicity first and foremost. There is no tin it comes in but if it did, it does exactly what it says on it. It’s there to do a job, and once installed properly on a wall, it’ll take the heavy load.

There are few homes in the land that could not use a little more shelving. These durable and extremely strong brackets are made of solid wrought iron and despite their rustic simplicity, they are rather attractive and come with a choice of black or natural beeswax finish. They are handcrafted in bespoke sizes to perfectly match your choice of shelving.

So why not let this sturdy support inspire you to action? Space may have been Captain Kirk’s final frontier but for the rest of us, it’s at a premium. So save time, save space and reclaim that floor area, maximise that wall space and put up that shelf.

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03 February

Ram’s Horn finial curtain pole

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Prior to the industrial revolution, the humble blacksmith was installed at his forge in every country village throughout the land. His bread and butter trade was practical ironwork producing horse tack, farm tools and ploughs and in the less enlightened ages, swords and armour.

People soon started to employ the local smithy to make decorative objects that would adorn any home, objects that would be passed down the generations. And where does a blacksmith derive his inspiration for such objects? Out of the window.

Mother Nature features a near infinite range of shapes and forms but the most pleasing to the eye become the classics whose design weathers the years just like the iron they are made of. One such classic is the Ram’s Horn.

The pleasing curves leading to the sharpened tip is one of Made by the Forge’s signature pieces and can be found as a curtain pole finial (above shown in beeswax), a curtain hold back (below shown in matt black finish).

It is also the decorative centre to Chris Eckersley’s Standard Floor Lamp. It is extraordinary how a still powerful and classic design can be forged to compliment contemporary lighting and as a fusion of both past and present, it creates its own unique identity.

beeswax, blacksmith, Chris Eckersley, Curtain hold backs, curtain pole, curtain poles, handcrafted, handmade, interior, Ironwork, Made by the Forge, matt black, Wrought iron From the Forge - News, Interiors, Lifestyle, Style tips Leave a Comment

24 January

21st Century Blacksmiths

Written by Juliet Fishenden

All of us in the U.K. have lived with wrought iron for most of our lives. It’s found everywhere. Ancient ironwork smashed into pleasing shapes, structures and intricate patterns is still with us, the march of time barely giving it a second glance. Wrought iron hangs up our bread boards, stores our wine, clads our ships and provides France with her most enduring icon.

The industrial revolution may have turned our heads towards the new mechanical means of production but handmade, handcrafted ironwork still holds an incomparable allure. In fact, in the 21^st century, wrought ironwork and its blacksmiths have returned with some vigour as the desire for material permanence has trumped the built in obsolescence of the poorly made product.

The last commercial wrought ironworks factory closed in 1974 but despite this, the skill of ‘working’ iron (‘wrought’ is an archaic form of ‘worked’) is still with us and the products highly prized and appreciated for their quality. From the beauty of the Farrier’s Cage Six Circle Globe Chandelier to the humble handle, iron still just works.

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16 January

Bay Pole Measuring ‘The Easy Way’

Written by Juliet Fishenden

There are few home chores more daunting than measuring up a bay window for bespoke curtain rails and brackets. Made by the Forge has produced a series of guides with simple step-by-step instructions for all manner of bays (with one bend, two, three, four, five and six and a curved one). With the larger bays, it’s advisable to get a friend to help with the measurements.

We hope we’ve covered 99% of the bays out there but if you have a bay that fits snuggly inside that pesky outlying 1%, we can do it but we may need more information than specified in our guides. We suggest what you’re going to need to do the job and take you through the specific lengths to measure so we can calculate the rail length. Then there’s the choice of finial and the number of extra brackets you may need as well as curtain rings.

Once you’ve settled on your finish (beeswax or matt black), that’s all your practical work done. The rest is up to us. At Made by the Forge, bespoke curtain poles are our specialty and we hope that these new bay curtain pole-measuring guides will take all the confusion and guesswork out of the chore.

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09 January

Hot Forged Iron Door Handles – Warehouse Home

Written by Juliet Fishenden

As a small but dedicated-to-quality company, exposure in magazines and indeed any media is invaluable to us. Any opportunity to gain more publicity for the company increases our profile. It’s not all about business and sales though of course these are important. But mostly we care that as many people as possible be aware that these age-old traditional skills are still with us in our iPad, screen dominated world.

In November 2015, Made by the Forge was graced with a company profile in the rather beautifully designed newspaper-like magazine Warehouse Home which you can see here, (first column, fifth box down). The magazine exploits the relatively new market of converting spaces usually associated with the storage of products into living areas. So it was thrilling to be back in Warehouse Home’s pages again.

Beautiful photography and snappy prose are unified to give the reader a peek of that lifestyle experience that may only exist in a homes magazine but certainly seems more and more attainable. If that’s your goal, we can certainly help.

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23 November

Country Living article on Made by the Forge, November 2016

Written by Juliet Fishenden

Made by the Forge was delighted to be featured in Country Living magazine, November issue and as the December issue is now out we have added the full article below for anyone who missed it.

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