top of page

Founder: David Norrie, a Professional Blacksmith and Experienced Instructor

David Norrie has been teaching the art of blacksmithing for over 30 years and forging iron since 1973. He started his career working as an intern at a historical pioneer village. "From the moment my hammer hit the hot iron, something clicked in my head and I realized this was my calling!" says Norrie. Two years later he opened his own blacksmith shop doing historical restoration work for museums and private clients. David continued to develop his skills and improve his craftsmanship through involvement with ABANA and learning from the masters of the day. He has had a very successful career designing and forging creative furniture, metal sculptures, and large architectural ironwork for clients all over the US and Canada. Since moving to Colorado, his creative focus has been on forging dynamic metal sculptures, public art and teaching others to Forge with Intention through his blacksmithing school. 

Otto Engel

Instructor / Manager

Otto was born and raised in Estes Park, Colorado. He has been forging since 2011! He studied welding at Front Range Community College, a degree in Forged Architectural Ironwork at The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina and attended the Artist Blacksmithing program at Hereford College of Arts in Herefordshire, England, he finished at the top his classes at each. His experience was honed with 5 to 8 month internships during the summers with James Makely at Living Design Studios forging and fabricating architectural details, DeSantis Metal Art creating colorful aluminum sculpture, Ann Vogt Jewery learning the basics of silversmithing, and here with David Norrie a few years ago. He used his free time while living in England to travel by train through 13 countries in Europe with three friends, visiting blacksmithing shops and learning from a wide variety of smiths along the way. Finally landing back in Colorado as an owner and full-time blacksmith at Innovation Forge and instructor here with us. He is also an Internationally exhibited metal artist and 

Otto Engel, has achieved full certification as a National Instructor and can now teach or sign off on any level of the National curriculum! Visit ABANA.org for more info on the curriculum.

Steve Rollert
Knife Making Instructor
 

Steve is a native Coloradan , born and raised in Denver. Steve gained an interest in Blacksmithing when he visited Skunk Hollow Forge in Morrison Colorado while writing a paper for a business class High School. After graduating High School, Steve enrolled in the Blacksmithing coarse offered at Skunk Hollow Forge in 1977. After completing the curriculum , Steve went on to study for 6 years under the careful eye of Kuzan Oda a Japanese Sword Smith and knife maker during the years that Kuzan lived in Colorado. Steve made a point of visiting every knife maker and bladesmith that he could find everywhere he traveled. In 1982 Steve found Ray Appleton in Byers Colorado . Ray taught Steve the importance of fine, accurate machining and to explore new ways of working metal using machine tools. Steve found a passion for teaching in 1985 when he bought an old welding shop in Keenesburg, Colorado. Since that time Steve has shared his knowledge with a steady stream of students in his Keenesburg shop as well as teaching for 8 years at the Trinidad State Junior College Gunsmithing Dept. during the summers . Steve was also the Education Director for the Professional Knife Makers Association for 24 years. As such he was in charge of doing blade forging and cut test demonstrations at each years annual knife show in Denver as well as helping new knifemakers develope their skills and answer knifemaking questions from collectors and aspiring knife makers from around the USA and the world. Included in the list of students that have gone on to professional level knifemaking is Ted Thompson , winner of Forged in Fire Episode 10 Season 2.
 

Steve feels honored to be allowed to share his knowledge and understanding with students of David
Norrie's Forge With Intention Blacksmithing School.

 Well Equiped Facilities

  • 3,700 square foot shop area

  • Five completely stocked forging stations with both gas and propane forges

  • Three pneumatic power hammers; a 110# Say Ha, a 300# self-contained Erie power hammer and a 750# Nazel from the 1950's

  • Two hydraulic presses

  • Gas, mig and tig welders

  • Small equipment store offering tools made in house 

 Teaching Philosophy

When you take a blacksmithing class at Forge with Intention, you will learn more than just forging mechanics, you will learn to break down each step and to consider what is going to happen to the iron before you take it out of the forge and over to the anvil. You will learn to be deliberate with each stroke of the hammer developing your skills progressively toward more complex metal working tasks. A blacksmithing class at David Norrie's Blacksmithing School - Forge with Intention will take you beyond the fundamentals of artistic blacksmithing into actually producing beautifully forged ironwork.

 

Schedule a blacksmithing class at Forge with Intention today!

Location and Lodging

David Norrie's Blacksmithing School, Forge with Intention is part of Davita Art Farm, the home and studios of David and Anita Yeh Norrie in Colorado. They have converted a 1902 farm with it's 11 outbuildings into an artist's playground. What was once an implement shed is now the well-equiped, expansive forge housing David Norrie's Blacksmithing School, Forge with Intention. A dairy barn is now a painting studio, while the old horse barn houses a drawing room, offices, and the two school instructors. A small grain silo has been converted into student housing. For $30 a night, students have a unique sleeping arrangement with access to showers and a small kitchen. If you prefer more comfort, a Bed and Breakfast with private rooms is a short distance from the blacksmithing school as are several major hotels and a variety of restaurants.

 

Davita Art Farm is located in Berthoud, a small arts community nestled between a river and acres of farmland which earned the area the nickname, the Garden Spot of Colorado. It is conveniently located just off I-25, 17 miles south of the Fort Collins Municipal Airport and 52 miles north of the Denver International Airport.  We offer free transportation to and from the airport for those who come from out of town to take blacksmithing classes at our blacksmithing school.

 

Berthoud lies in the middle of Colorado's Front Range, which is known for world-class outdoor recreation and a host of cultural activities. There is plenty to do and see for the whole family if you wanted to combine a family trip with your blacksmithing class. In the winter, the Rocky Mountains offer superb skiing opportunities and in the summer, the generally sunny weather makes activities like hiking, cycling, climbing, fishing, kayaking and horseback riding prime.

 

Colorado has several nationally recognized museums including the Denver Art Museum, which houses the second largest Performing Arts Center in the nation after Lincoln Center in New York City.  The Denver Museum of Nature and Science currently holds an aquamarine specimen valued at over one million dollars. The state history museum, History Colorado Center, was named in 2013 by True West Magazine as one of the top-ten "must see" history museums in the country. It features hands-on and interactive exhibits, artifacts and programs the whole family can enjoy.
 

For night life, Colorado is home to local and nationally renowned breweries and bustling communities filled with art galleries, restaurants, bars and clubs with an active pop, jazz, jam, folk, and classical music scene.  Well known folk artists such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and John Denver were once residents of the Front Range. Three members of the widely popular group Earth, Wind, and Fire are from the area. More recent local artists include The Lumineers, Air Dubai, The Fray, Flobots, Cephalic Carnage, Axe Murder Boyz, Deuce Mob, and Five Iron Frenzy.
 

Denver has four sports venues that are home to a variety of major league sports teams; the Broncos Football team,  the Colorado Rockies Baseball team, the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, the Colorado Avalanche National Hockey League team, and the Major League Soccer team, the Colorado Rapids. So plan a few days before or after your blacksmithing class to enjoy all the area has to offer.

bottom of page