Well, no sooner do I talk about one wood-n-iron project then another customer sends me pictures of her wood-n-iron project!
Who doesn't love wood and iron together?
AJ found me on Etsy and asked if I could shorten some of the standard hooks that I offer. Of course I said I could, and then it was off to the races trying to figure out how to make the hooks to the dimensions she needed.
At the last minute, she let me know the hooks were going to be mounted on thin slats, so I couldn't send the hooks out with the screws I normally include.
With more details on her plan, something I'm loathe to ask for, I decided to use solid brass screws and antiqued them to get rid of the factory shine.
When I finished all of the hooks, I was very unhappy with how they turned out, so.... back to the bandsaw to cut them to a more uniform overall length. This meant I had to reforge all the countersink divots, ruining the finish I’d already applied and killing my profit margin entirely, but it was well worth it in the end. Greater uniformity is one thing, but getting the hooks to fit nicely on the slats was the real winner.
It was only today when I got her email with the pictures that I got the whole story behind this project.
AJ & Hubby are big coffee aficionados and their most of those mugs were collected while on their honeymoon, traveling through the Great Parks out west. This isn't simply a rack to hold some cheap mugs on the wall. Each piece is an irreplaceable memento from their shared history, a big moment in their lives, and my ironwork had to be absolutely spot on or it would have ruined the whole vibe.
No pressure!
I shudder to think how I'd be feeling right now if I'd taken the shortcut and sent her the original hooks. The first iteration was good, but not as good as I wanted. There was that little voice in the back of my head telling me to fix what I saw wrong, and I'm so glad I listened to it! I couldn’t do what I do if it wasn’t for the very kind support of customers like AJ. If you’d like to help keep the iron flowing, consider stopping by to pick up a shirt or maybe some ironwork of your very own. Every bit helps! https://www.storefrontier.com/three-rivers-forge
Thank you!
