Northwest Blacksmith Association
Dedicated to education and the preservation of the art and craft of blacksmithing.
Our name and our mission.
NWBA has been striving to expand our outreach. We now have a traveling exhibit of demonstrator archives, educating the public about the art and craft of blacksmithing. We established our Mentoring Center so we could have monthly demonstration/open forge events. These have been a great success, and yet they are not enough. The Mentoring Center is located in Longview, WA, the southern part of the state, and not easily accessible to people who are farther than a 2-3 hour radius, and even that is farther than most want to travel for a one day event. So, what to do?
Local Hammer-Ins! Our membership includes many people spread across the Pacific Northwest region, some of whom have blacksmith shops large enough to host a few people for a casual hammer-in, or maybe even a larger shop that can host a dozen or more.
NWBA would like to encourage our members to put on a local event by providing a few resources (under development):
- Event publishing: submit your local blacksmith event information to webmaster@blacksmith.org or submit the form here
- Online resources: articles, background info, and reports on locally hosted events.
- Mentorship: We hope to compile, and post when available, a list of contacts who are able to advise you during the planning phases of your event, and perhaps we can get a list of some who are willing to hands-on mentor. In the meantime, contact one of our board members if you want to discuss an idea for a blacksmith event in your neighborhood.