Quality Iron Work

I am Paul Reilly and what I do is hand forged Ironwork. I am 20 years old and I am attending the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston South Carolina to receive a BA in Architectural Blacksmithing. I grew up in rural Oklahoma and have always been attracted to working with my hands. I started blacksmithing when I was a freshman in high school. During that time I was able to make and sell chests and a sword for the school’s soirée fundraiser auction. Once I graduated I worked for Wiemann’s Metalcraft in Tulsa Oklahoma as an Apprentice Fabricator. Now I have been honored to receive an internship at the Company Robert Thomas Iron Design. I am in this trade because of the ability to create something unique and beautiful by the shaping of hot steel in a way that can only be done by hand. I believe the trades, especially in the handcrafts, are needed more than ever to bring back beauty and integrity into the society that we live in, that focuses on cheap mass produced.