Ashen Carey

Ashen Carey

 Ashen Carey’s love affair with forged iron began in the summer of 1996 when he took a week-long blacksmith course in the mountains of Colorado.  The smell of the coal, the heat of the fire and the glow of the metal changed his life.  Returning to his native Detroit, he took a position as an apprentice blacksmith at Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village Museum.  There, Ashen learned the basics of forging, reproduction and restoration of ironwork, and demonstrated in front of tens of thousands of visitors.  After two years, Ashen left the Museum to begin an eight year journey: traveling from shop to shop first in Michigan, then to California, Israel, Italy, Czech Republic, and Pennsylvania.  During this time he honed his knowledge and skills in architectural ironwork, tool making, historical ironwork and design theory.  He’s taught many classes and workshops and loves to share the rich history and beguiling beauty of blacksmithing with anyone who is interested.  Ashen currently lives in Exeter, New Hampshire with his family, where he runs a small forge.  He can be found at www.elementsiniron.com