I was born in South Africa into a meat-loving, DIY-proud family with ties to German, Dutch and English ancestry. My highly inquisitive nature and photographic memory leads me to pursue a wide array of hobbies and interests in what may be observed as a rather random fashion.
My website is no different. You’ll find me posting about whatever interests me at any given point in time and when looking at historic content, you may be surprised at just how many topics I’ve gone through in the last decade.
Welcome to my brain.
Inspiration
Tim Els
My understanding and skills in design and fabrication can be largely attributed to the strong and persistent force of inspiration I was lucky enough to have been brought up with by my dad.
See some of his amazing work via the link below.
Bjorn The Blacksmith
I ran into Sean at the Blacksmith’s Festival in Footscray in 2022 and was instantly fascinated with his craft, specializing in items from the Viking-age which I too am very fond of.
The Castle Blacksmith
In 2020, in between bouts of harsh COVID-19 lockdown mandates, my family and I drove to Ballarat for the day and visited both Sovereign Hill and Kryal Castle and I spent an excessive amount of time being mesmerised by the roaring fires of the blacksmiths at both locations. Cam (or “Smithy” as he’s referred to locally) is a full-time blacksmith operating at Kryal Castle and also has a penchant for period-accurate reproductions of everything from weapons to clothes and accessories.
Suppliers
Artisan Supplies (Gameco)
The single most tempting gateway to everything occupying my mind in 2022. I want everything on this site, and I’m happy to report that I already own some of it 🙂
Nordic edge
Specializing in knife making supplies, Nordic Edge is another supplier that I simply can’t get enough from.
Events
BlacksmithS Festival Footscray
I heard about this annual event from a colleague ion passing literally the weekend before it was held, and as someone who loves blacksmithing, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s got fun for the whole family, “Try It Out” sessions for young and old alike and a bunch of exhibitions showing off the gorgeous work of local Australian blacksmiths.