Northwest Blacksmith Association

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Swaptoberfest Schedule of Events

Online Registration is Closed but you can still register in person at the event!

Friday October 20th:

Registration and Merch Table Open in MC from 6:00pm – 7:30pm
6:00pm Earlybird Set-up for Camping and Tailgating
7:00pm Sand to Steel Meeting
8:00pm-ish Open Forge and Fireside Camaraderie

Flexible Friday Evening Activities
Tailgate Sales
Reed Kris-Peck Workshop Raffle Entry
Masquerade Gallery and Competition Open – Cast Your Vote!
Archives Gallery Open
Library Open to Check Out Books
Drop off Donations for Silent Auction at the Registration Table
Volunteers Welcome to Help in the Cook Shack!


Saturday, October 21st:
Registration and Merch Table Open in MC
8:00am – 10:00am // 1:00pm – 3:00pm // 8:00pm – 9pm-ish

6:30am – 8am: Breakfast and Coffee at Cook Shack
6:30am – 8am: Workshop Raffle Entry is Open
8:30am: Workshop Raffle Drawing
9:00am-12:00pm Reed Peck-Kriss Broom Handle Workshop and Demo in the Mentoring Center
9:00am-12:00am Ben Cyzhold Workshop and Demo in the Teaching Barn
12:30pm -1:30pm Lunch at the Cook Shack
2:00pm-5:00pm Ryan Sanden Copper and Steel Cookware Demo in the Mentoring Center
2:00pm-4:00pm Youth and Beginner Open Forge in the Teaching Barn
6:00pm-8:00pm Potluck Dinner at Cookshack
**Please bring your own reusable plates and utensils! Please label your dish!**
8:00pm-ish Masquerade Prize Time after Potluck Dinner*
*All votes must be submitted in by 8pm
8:00pm-ish Team Forging Competition Starts in MC*
*Extra points awarded for Costumes
9:00pm Silent Auction Closes in the Mentoring Center*
*Winners can pick up their items Saturday evening or Sunday morning

Flexible Activities on Saturday
Archives Gallery Open
Library Open to Check Out Books
Masquerade Gallery and Competition Open – Cast Your Vote!
Silent Auction
Volunteers Welcome to Help in the Cook Shack!


Sunday, October 22nd:
Registration and Merch Table Open in MC from 9:00am – 12:00noon

7:30am-8:30am Coffee and Leftovers for Breakfast at Cook Shack
9:00am-12:00pm Ryan Sanden Demo in the Mentoring Center
9:00am-12:00pm Reed Peck-Kriss Broom Tying Workshop, Location TBD
9:00am-12:00pm Silent Auction Winners – Pick Up Your Items!
12:00pm-4:00pm Conference Breakdown – Volunteers are Welcome to Help!

Flexible Activities on Sunday until 12noon
Archives Gallery Open
Library Open to Check Out Books
Volunteers Welcome to Help in the Cook Shack!

Swaptoberfest – Updated Schedule!

There’s been a schedule change with Taylor Custard covering Rashelle Hams Saturday morning. If you don’t already know, Rashelle’s awesome and we can’t wait for future demos with her + are looking forward to Taylor’s demo: Hot Set Tubing Patterns and Application in Gates and Railings

So get pumped for a weekend of Tailgate Sales, Forging Competitions, Halloween Costumes, Cook Shack Meals and Fireside Camaraderie! Enjoy flexible activities everyday, like the Blanket Shoot Competition and Silent Auction.

Online Registration has Closed but you can still sign up in person at the Swaptoberfest Registration Table! Registration is $60 per person, camping $20 per person per night, and a swapmeet booth is only $20 for the whole weekend.

Click Here to view the Schedule of Events

Swaptoberfest Silent Auction

We invite Swaptoberfest Attendees to bring handmade donations to add to our Silent Auction!

Donations can be dropped off at the Swaptoberfest Registration Table starting at 6pm on Friday, October 21st. The Silent Auction will close at 9pm Saturday, October 22nd. Aution winners can pick up items after 9pm on Saturday.

Proceeds raised by our Silent Auction help fuel the NWBA’s Mission joining community through educational experiences around the forge.

NWBA Conferences are for NWBA Members only – Join in the Fun and Sign Up Today!

Youth and Beginner’s Forge at Spring Conference

This year’s NWBA Spring Conference will feature a Youth and Beginners Forge hosted by experienced blacksmiths, educators, and youth mentors! We welcome enthusiastic students of all ages and skill levels to join our workshops and practice the ancient craft of blacksmithing.

Workshops will be held Friday, June 3rd from 1pm – 3pm and Saturday, June 4th from 9am – 11am and 2pm – 4pm. Parent or Guardian must be present onsite during workshops for participants under 18 years old!

Hot Forging Workshops will be available for students age 8 and up. For younger kiddos and quick demos, we offer “Cold Forging” where participants can shape soft metals or modeling clay to learn foundational techniques in blacksmithing.

Youth and Beginners Forge is offered on a sliding scale donation of $5-$25 per student! Sign up at Conference in the Teaching Barn!

Those who sign up ahead of the conference will be first to forge! All others will be admitted on a first come first serve basis.

Spring Conference Registration

We’re stoked to host our 2022 Spring Conference, June 3rd – June 5th! Online Registration is closed but you can still Register in-person at the Conference Registration Desk.

Main Demonstrators:
Sculptural Work with Leslie Tharp
Tool Making with Riley Kirkpatrick

We’ll also have Creative Forging with Anton Yakushev throughout the weekend, Hands-on Workshops with Scott Szloch, Mark Manley, Andrew Windish and Caleb Booth, Repousse Corner with Louie Raffloer, and a Sunday morning filled with Hot Tips!

The Youth Corner will hold two workshops on Saturday with clay forging for kids 8 and under and hot forging for kids 9 – 17. Youth Workshops will be taught by experienced adult and youth mentors.

We’ll have Cook Shack Catered Cuisine all weekend with a Potluck Dinner Friday evening and Open Air Banquet + Auction Saturday evening. Forging Competitions will be held both nights along with a Blanket Shoot Competition that attendees can participate in throughout the weekend. Stay tuned for more updates including our full schedule of events, Hot Tips lineup and how to sign up for Youth Programs when Online Registration opens in April!

We need your help making this Spring Conference the best it can be! Join our team of Conference Volunteers at the Registration Desk.

Virtual Swaptoberfest Pass

Want to join our fantastic line of Swaptoberfest demos but can’t make the event? No worries!

The Virtual Swaptoberfest Pass will connect you to live streamed demonstrations from Maria Cristalli, Phil Baldwin and David Tuthill. All proceeds go to support the NWBA’s Mission to provide our members educational opportunities and community connection at the forge.

Virtual Swaptoberfest Pass: $20

Click the Buy Now button to pay via PayPal

 

Swaptoberfest 2021: Schedule of Events

 

Click Here for Virtual Swaptoberfest Pass

Click Here for Swaptoberfest Merchandise

ONLINE REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED

We look forward to seeing you at the Registration Desk!

 

Schedule of Events

Friday, October 22nd:
9am – 5pm: John Emmerling Damascus Workshop (Registered Students Only)
6pm – 8pm: Swaptoberfest Registration Opens
7pm: Friday Night Activities in the Mentoring Center (Eagle Eye & Midnight Madness)

 

Saturday, October 23rd:
8am – 10am / 1pm – 3pm: Registration Desk Open
9am – 5pm: Swap Meet and Tailgate Sales Open to the Public

9am – 12pm: Phil Baldwin Tool Making Demo
9am – 12pm: Open Forge/ Knife Makers Corner in Mentoring Center
12pm – 1pm: Lunch
1pm – 4pm: Maria Cristalli Demo
1pm – 4pm Hands on Workshop with Ben Cyzhold
5:30pm: BBQ & Potluck (Click Here for Potluck Guidelines)
7pm: Saturday Night Activities (Group Forging & Costume Contest)
9pm: Winners of Auction, Masquerade, and Blanket Shoot Announced

 

Sunday, October 24th:

9am – 12pm: Swap Meet and Tailgate Sales Open to the Public
9am – 12pm: David Tuthill Demo

12pm: Swaptoberfest Closes / Volunteers Appreciated for Cleanup

How to Join our Q3 Board Meeting this Saturday, Oct 17th

Our 3rd Quarter Board Meeting will be held this Saturday, October 17th at 1pm via Zoom. All Current NWBA Members are welcome to attend. If you have an Annual Membership as well as a User Account on our website, just click HERE for info on how to join!

If you’re a Current NWBA Member but don’t have an online User Account for our website, just email webmaster@blacksmith.org and we’ll email you the info needed to join the board meeting.

Book Bundles are Up for Auction!

Thanks to some generous book donations that were made leading up to the auction, the NWBA is running a special Book Bundle Auction in addition to our regularly scheduled October Auction on Ebay! 

A new lot of bundled books related to blacksmithing, metal fabrication, etc will be uploaded every day over the next ten days, so be sure to check in on the Book Bundle Auction by hitting the link below or by moseying over to Ebay and typing NWBA into the search bar.

Click HERE to visit the NWBlacksmithAssociation Ebay Account!

October Auction: Link to Week 1 Items!

To surf Week 1 items on our NWBlacksmithAssociation Ebay Account just click the link below:

https://www.ebay.com/usr/nwblacksmithassociation?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

This week’s auction will close at 6pm this Saturday, October 17th. Winners will be contacted the following Sunday! Bids can be placed and updated throughout the week, or choose the Buy it Now option to ensure the NWBA receives the maximum benefit from these generous donations.

If you have questions or items you’d like to submit, please email webmaster@blacksmith.org

NWBA Board Meeting

Our 3rd Quarter Board Meeting will be held Saturday, October 17th at 1pm (PST) via Zoom. Anyone with an annual NWBA membership is welcome to attend! Info to join will be sent to members by email on the Thursday before the meeting. 

October Auction starts Sunday, October 11th at 6pm

This year’s October Auction will be held as a series of weekly Ebay auctions. Items will be uploaded to our NWBlacksmithAssociation account at 6pm (PST) each Sunday and bids can be placed and updated all week. Each week’s auction will close at 6pm the following Saturday and winners will be contacted the next day!

A link to surf Week 1 items will be uploaded to our homepage at blacksmith.org this Sunday at 6pm.

These online auctions are a perfect opportunity to walk away with hand forged items you love while also supporting an organization that’s done a ton to help nurture and grow the art, craft, and community of blacksmithing these last 40 years!

If you have questions or items you’d like to submit, please email webmaster@blacksmith.org

 

October Auction

Calling All Members!

The NWBA is organizing a series of online auctions through the month of October. As you know, our Annual Auction was cancelled along with our Spring Conference, so here’s your chance to support the organization that has done so much to help nourish and grow the Blacksmith Community you love.

We’re asking members to forge one-of-a-kind tools, art, functional pieces – anything you can dream up – to donate to this auction. We ask you keep in mind the cost of shipping your item and that all donations be submitted by October 1st. For more information on submitting your work to the October Auction, please email webmaster@blacksmith.org

More details about the auction itself will be posted in the coming weeks!

July 25th Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

The agenda for the Board of Directors Meeting on Saturday, July 25th at 1pm via Zoom is embedded below:

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Digital Demo #10 with Anton Yakushev

All Current NWBA Members are welcome to join our 10th Digital Demo, this time at Anton Yakushev’s workshop in Russia! The demo will take place Saturday, July 11th from 10 – 11:30am via Zoom. This will be our first international live stream, during which Anton will forge a series of flowers and even generously donated pieces of sculptural art for auction during the demo! Information to join Digital Demo #10 will be sent to your email. If you don’t see it in your inbox, check your spam, social, promotions, or other folders and if you don’t see it there, please send an email to webmaster@blacksmith.org 

Notes from Fireside Chat #1 and Discussion Topics for FC #2

For those who couldn’t attend, please know the NWBA’s first live streamed Fireside Chat was a success! We offer many thanks to Jerry Zygmuntowicz and Lee Cordochorea for hosting and co-hosting these first two FC sessions. Much ground was covered regarding the NWBA community, how we can best honor our past as we grow towards a brighter future, and how to avoid the pitfalls of trying to reinvent the wheel when others have put so much effort into blazing the trail we’re currently on. Current NWBA Members, check your email to access the typed notes covering what was discussed during our first FC!

Topics of Discussion for the next FC Session:

The Subject of Inclusivity: How our members interpret its definition, the role it plays in the NWBA, as well as how it manifests in other organizations and in the blacksmith community at large

Favorite Memories: Sharing stories from past events, conferences, and workshops that stick out in our members’ minds – especially ones that honor past NWBA members or provide a good chuckle!

The July FC Schedule: Changing FC dates and times to better fit our members’ schedules

If there’s a discussion topic you’d like to add to upcoming FC sessions, please send them to webmaster@blacksmith.org!

Digital Demo #7 with Dan Bowyer and Ike Bay

Join us at 10am this Saturday, June 6th for our seventh live streamed Digital Demo with Dan Bowyer and one of our founding members Ike Bay!

Dan and Ike will demonstrate forging poz tongs. The person that developed this style of tong demoed them for the NWBA around 30 years ago, so Ike will go over the history of these tongs as well.

Current NWBA Members, check your email to join!

NEW: NWBA Fireside Chat Tues, June 2nd at 7pm

A Message from the Communications Committee

One of the difficulties maintaining a blacksmith organization of our size and variety, is maintaining a common sense of community and ensuring members’ voices are consistently heard. That task is all the greater in the time of CoVID19 – especially since the fairgrounds where the MC’s located are currently closed to public gatherings.

While the NWBA has received feedback that our Digital Demos have provided a boost to our blacksmith community in turbulent times, we also recognize these online demos aren’t enough, nor do they compare to standing around a fire, catching up on the state of the NWBA and life in general with fellow members and friends.

Since our ability to gather around a real fire is hindered for the time being, we invite all NWBA Members to join our first Fireside Chat on Tuesday, June 2nd at 7pm for community talk and feedback. Please know, joining these fireside chats will help set the agenda for the next General Meeting on June 27th. While financial and budget questions will be taken note of at the FCs, financial feedback and concerns will be addressed at the General Meeting on Tuesday, June 27th.

Unlike Digital Demos, our members will be the focus of these FCs, with options for video and mics to be engaged so attendees can be seen and heard as they choose. These chats will be held every first and third Tuesday of the month until we can gather around a real fire again. While the FC schedule might change overtime, that’s the plan for now.

If you’re unable to join any of these meetings but still have questions or feedback to share for the committees or board to address, please send them to nwbainfo@gmail.com!

The NWBA wants to offer a special thank you to Jerry Zygmuntowicz, as he’s offered to host our first two Fireside Chats on June 2nd and June 16th. We also want to thank NWBA members who’ve offered feedback to our organization, as the seeds they planted have developed into these Fireside Chats. Finally, we want to thank our members who are putting considerable effort into organizing and facilitating these online meetings, as the intention behind them is to help our members’ voices be heard!

General Meeting Scheduled for Sat, June 27th at 10AM

Normally the NWBA’s annual General Meeting is held at the Spring Conference, but had been rescheduled to take place during Swaptoberfest in fall. However, taking our members’ feedback and suggestions into consideration, we’ve decided to host the General Meeting as a live streamed event which all NWBA members are invited to attend.

This online General Meeting has been planned for Saturday, June 27th at 10am, to outline the NWBA budget and present committee reports for feedback from our members. While this online meeting will be hosted on Zoom, the information to join the meeting will be emailed at a later date.

There will be time for members to ask questions and offer feedback during this meeting. If you have questions or feedback for the board or committees to address during this meeting, we hope you can join one of our Fireside Chats so they can be taken note of, or please send them in an email to nwbainfo@gmail.com. Since this is our first online General Meeting, ensuring as much as we can beforehand that questions and feedback are addressed during board and committee reports will help streamline the event!

Mentoring Center Update

We want to thank Lee Cordochorea for updating the NWBA community on the current status of the Mentoring Center! In his words:

“It occurs to me the general membership may be unaware of something which is obvious to those of us in the thick of things.

The Cowlitz County Fairgrounds (where our Mentoring Center is located) is currently being used as an emergency center. No one other than emergency personnel have access at this time. Even if we could maintain safe social distancing during M.C. events, we would not have access to the M.C. at this time.

The Digital Demonstrations are not, in any way, a “replacement” for hands on events. They are, however, a timely and helpful fill-in while we endure the plague of the century. I offer my thanks to the Board and the Events Committee for this interim fix!

In-person events will surely resume once the fairgrounds are no longer needed as an emergency center. I look forward to seeing folk at the M.C. in person once this pandemic is in the past.”

Many thanks for the update Lee!