SE06 EP07: The art of blacksmithing is surprisingly eco-friendly! With guest, Callum Cooper

Sustainably Influenced

As a rule, blacksmith art is eco-friendly because it comes from a naturally occurring material, iron, and then lasts for a very long time.

“Blacksmiths have always been great recyclers," says Blacksmith Artist Jay Silber. "From the very earliest days of the Iron Age, metal was a scarce commodity. By repairing items instead of trashing them, that means less for the landfill and less energy spent making new metal.”

Today's guest is Callum Cooper who is a traditionally trained architectural blacksmith, at 29 Callum decided to retrain and learn a craft and trained at Plumpton College in Sussex for 2 years. Initially his business Ferrous Wheel provided architectural and sculptural projects in metal before later expanding and starting Meal Deal Workshop where they offer blacksmithing, fabrication, machining in the metal work department and have a joinery workshop. They also offer design capabilities with a team producing 3D models of projects and full technical drawings. Meal Deal now has a full time staff of 9 people. We are currently based in Forest Hill in South East London.

Sources:

https://www.monash.edu/engineering/about/news/articles/2019/making-sustainable-materials-through-the-ancient-art-of-blacksmithing

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/20/blacksmith-recycles-canisters-into-cult-kitchen-knives-for-zero-waste-foodies

Thanks to our special guest for today's episode. You can follow us over on @sustainablyinfluenced and email [e-mail] with questions, feedback and guest suggestions.

You can also catch us weekly on The Gadget Show on Channel 5 @7pm (GMT).

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