Before becoming a full time metalworker, I studied ceramics, including traveling to Africa to create pottery in a co-op in Mozambique. Ceramics turned out to be a solid base on which to start working with metal because of the inherent shapability of both clay and steel.
Studying under a prominent Minneapolis metalworker I quickly found my passion for blacksmithing alongside modern metalworking techniques. After six years at the Lisa Elias Studio, in 2002 I co-founded Upset Wood and Metal, a custom furniture shop based in Northeast Minneapolis.
After twelve years and a move to the east coast, the quiet woods of rural Washington County is now my home and the home of my new shop, Belcher Hollow Forge.
Since I was a child I have built things with my hands. Honing my techniques in the creation of skateboard ramps as a teen, I was soon working with a family friend in the construction business.
After many moves I settled in Minneapolis in 1998 and started work at Prairie Furniture, building mission-style oak furniture in a production setting. After a six month hiatus and the purchase of my former employer’s shop in 2002, I teamed with Minneapolis metalworker Elisa Meyer to form Upset Wood and Metal designing and building custom furniture.
Our new business, Belcher Hollow Forge, is Located in Hebron, N.Y. serving the Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls / Lake George region creating custom, locally hand made furniture, railing systems, lighting and other one of a kind pieces.
