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Anyone who runs up and down the staircase in the 麻豆社国产home, grabbing the ornate metal railing to steady themselves as they go, likely never thinks about the craftsmanship that went into the railing鈥檚 creation: the hours of thought, design and hard labour of heating and then bending the steel into swirls or perfect angles.听
The staircase, like many of his other creations, came to life in Eric Gindlesperger鈥檚 modern blacksmith shop, , in downtown Squamish, which also houses the traditional tools of the trade: a forge, anvil and hammer.
鈥淲e call ourselves artist-blacksmiths because a true blacksmith is the guy who was fixing a wagon wheel or forge-welding and forming equipment back in the day,鈥� Gindlesperger said, as he took a seat on a stool next to a partially completed iron gate destined for a 麻豆社国产home.听
鈥淣ow all that is done by machines鈥� What we are doing is ornamental iron work and my focus is on ornamental iron work for the home and business.鈥澨�
Gindlesperger, Squamish鈥檚 only professional artistic blacksmith, makes home accessories, railing and fireplace sets, screens and security doors.听
鈥淭hings with an artistic functionality,鈥� he explained.
Traditional blacksmithing has a long history in Canada. The Hudson Bay Company brought the first professional blacksmiths to Canada in the 1670s, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. The craftsmen were needed to make and repair items that the company didn鈥檛 want to ship back to England. The trade blossomed over time.听
鈥淭he various craftsmen produced work of high aesthetic and technical quality,鈥� said Jean-Claude Dupont in the online encyclopedia.听
In the 19th century blacksmiths were particularly important in Western towns along railway lines, such as in Squamish, according to 麻豆社国产historian Eric Andersen.听
鈥淏eing听a logging and railway听 鈥� including rail car manufacturing and locomotive repair 鈥� town,听and relatively isolated for a long time, blacksmith shops were a critical part of the community infrastructure, keeping things going and inventing solutions,鈥� said Andersen, adding one of the most well-known local blacksmith shops was on Cleveland Avenue for many years.
In his work, Gindlesperger said he tries to incorporate old joinery techniques into a modern design.听
鈥淭ypically I will build with the forage and the anvil and the power hammer, all traditional tools,鈥� he said.听
鈥淚 will do a lot of ornamental parts 鈥� say the railing for example, and then it gets clamped on to this table and I use my five-year-old welder. I am not doing everything traditionalist.鈥澨�
Gindlesperger learned his craft from his father, Larry, who was a blacksmith for 40 years in Ohio.听
The senior Gindlesperger told The 麻豆社国产 his son came and watched him work from a young age.听
鈥淚t was very fun to teach him,鈥� he said from his Ohio home. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of him.鈥�
Ginglesperger said he has adapted the skills and ideas he was exposed to over the years into his own style.
鈥淚 am not trying to be the 1800s blacksmith,鈥� he said.听
鈥淏ut by the same token, I draw a lot of the steel, and taper and punch and drift... all the very basic fundamental blacksmithing techniques, I do very regularly and exactly the same way essentially that they were done for hundreds of years. The difference is now I have a nice band saw and I cut with a plasma cutter, so I can cheat a little bit to make it more cost efficient and time efficient.鈥� 听
The newer techniques open up different avenues for design, Gindlesperger said.听
鈥淭here鈥檚 some really cutting edge blacksmiths doing some really cutting edge things around the world,鈥� he said.听
Both Gindlesperger and his father said patience is the most important characteristic for a blacksmith to have.听
鈥淲hat is interesting is, I don鈥檛 really have much patience unless I am working with blacksmithing,鈥� the younger Gindlesperger said with a laugh.听
鈥淔or some reason I have chosen about the slowest profession you could do.鈥澨�
His least favourite part of the job is the grinding after welding, he said.
鈥淚t is using hand-held grinders and just a dirty, loud job that is pretty monotonous,鈥� he said.听
Gindlesperger said there is always a demand for handmade, high-quality items like what he creates, but then there are people who want to go online and buy something for cheap.听
鈥淚 am not going to try to compete with the $30 Etsy hairpin [furniture] legs,鈥� he said.听
鈥淢ost of the stuff I build will outlast me for sure, for generations.鈥澨�
His main clientele are fellow 麻豆社国产residents, he said, and he also sells to people in Whistler and West Vancouver.听
鈥淭hat is why [Squamish] is a great place to have a shop,鈥� he said听
鈥淚 do all I need to do with the client and getting the measurements at their home and then I build everything here and deliver it and install it,鈥� he said.
The steel he uses comes from a local company. 听
鈥淚 try to keep everything as close to the corridor as I can,鈥� he said.
麻豆社国产is a perfect fit for Gindlesperger, who moved to the district six years ago. The outdoors, skiing and mountain bike riding inspire his work.听
鈥淚 am usually solving a problem on a bicycle,鈥� he said. 鈥淕o hit the trails for an hour and a half, come back and get back to it.鈥澨�
Gindlesperger said the learning never really stops in blacksmithing.听
鈥淚 know that I will still be learning until the end,鈥� he said.听
鈥淚t is one of those things, there鈥檚 always something new to learn: a different technique or a new tool, or a new way to approach it.鈥澨�
Gindlesperger says he most enjoys the process of working with steel.听
鈥淚t is pretty interesting to have basically a dead cold material like steel and give it some life and make it look like something rich and interesting.鈥澨�
Ultimately, Gindlesperger said he would like to expand his shop and offer blacksmithing classes.听
鈥淧art of all of our obligation is to keep it going,鈥� he said.听
