User:GuildmasterSmith

When I was fourteen years of age I was introduced to the craft of Blacksmithing. It was on that day I decided I would pursue the timeless art to its fullest. I became an apprentice in the Howell Works Blacksmiths Guild, an organization that can claim a start in 1830's, and remained so for five years, learning under several gifted Smiths. After passing my journeyworkers exam I felt it necessary to start my own shop. The Guild I joined at that point was starting to fall apart due in part they did not own their own spaces. It was at that moment I realized that I needed to rescue the guild system and did so by bringing it to Maine and rebranded it to what we have now. Over the course of a decade I expanded the fledgling Guild from one shop in Northern Maine on the Penobscot river to three working Blacksmith shops, spread across the State including a portable shop in Europe. Having built or refurbished over half dozen Blacksmith shops in my lifetime it was a sure bet that Blacksmithing and the guild would survive another generation. Every year we head to Europe on expedition to catalog and recreate all the lost ironwork that has failed to be passed on. We take that knowledge and bring it to back to Maine. Over the years I have established working relationships with Blacksmiths in Sweden, Netherlands, and Germany. In this pursuit we are able to bridge the gap between continents and learn the important work that never made it across the Atlantic.

-In Service, Guildmaster Sam H. smith, defender of the craft.

-Maine Blacksmith's Guild, Tradition at work since 1836