Meet Gary the Blacksmith

After his company eliminated has position as a welder, Gary stopped by the store to find out if we might have need for the talents of a blacksmith in fabricating fireplace equipment. Did we ever!

For over 25 years we've carried products made by a formerly great manufacturer of fireplace screens, toolsets, grates and the like. The company was purchased by a Chinese company 3 or 4 years ago and the quality has fallen substantially since production moved to China while prices have actually increased.

First we asked Gary to produce the TINY ARCH screen (pictured left) that we designed a few years back, which we've been having custom made for us by the aforementioned company. In 3 days time he returned with several screens in hand. They're heavier and more sturdy, much nicer made AND he's charging us less than we had been paying! We've been able to reduce the price by $40, which has resulted in increased sales for us. Gary has created another new screen style for us and is working on a number of new designs that you'll see in the upcoming weeks - check our website for more offerings.

I'd love to see this scenario happen time after time, so we're designing some reproduction mantels that will be made by a local carpenter from old, reclaimed wood. The mantels will be newly constructed from vintage recycled materials, giving them an aged patina and vintage charm.

We're so excited at the opportunity to help create more and more handcrafted, American-made products that create American jobs. We appreciate our customers' support and hope you'll encourage your friends to check out our selections.