Hello Howdy!

I'm Jordan Goodwin, 27 years old, and I'm a full-time blacksmith, supporting a growing family with my beautiful wife Atlanta by my side. I got into blacksmithing seriously in the summer of 2016 after messing around with it occasionally for a few years before that. After blacksmithing became such a big part of our life that it was competing with our other work, we decided to go full time with it January 1st, 2019. My journey into blacksmithing has been an absolute roller coaster of a ride, and was born out of a passionate love of history and small farming. I originally wanted to be able to make my own hardware and tools- but as I got deeper and deeper into the craft, I became drawn further into the rich history of hand-forged ironwork, and after realizing the value of the craft and also just how far removed from any knowledge of it we have become, I came to the conclusion that traditional blacksmithing deserves a comeback and to take it's place in culture once again as a respected and sought-after building art. I have determined that I will do as much as I can to use my business to contribute to a revival of hand-craftsmanship, especially in ironwork. I believe that such an effort has to be built heavily on the two pillars of 1. high-quality work, and 2. educational content created to show the craft to the world, showcasing the amazing historical skills and processes used to create timeless, functional and decorative ironwork that will last for generations.
Getting busy

2019 -my first year as a full-time smith- was a crazy busy year, as my intern and I roughed-out a new shop, did lots of thinking and counseling, and plotted the way forward to becoming a successful business. In late 2019, I took on more and more custom work, requiring me to spend an increasing amount of time at the anvil. This is a good thing- as I need and want to both grow in skill and business. But it comes with the drawbacks of having even less time for other things, like learning video production and making the content necessary to spread the word about traditional blacksmithing. My intern, Boone, also moved on to other things. And while I've made a lot of effort to make and get content out there, I'm relatively unhandy at the technical side of content production. I've had to come to accept the fact that I just don't have the time to consistently film and photograph myself, let alone edit the content into a quality, consumable end-product that showcases craftsmanship and inspires others in their own journeys in craftsmanship, or to supporting other craftsmen and women. Not to mention that I would honestly rather spend my time and energy both learning and promoting blacksmithing and spending time with my family, and delegate things that take me away from the things that my time is best spent doing. I first experimented with hiring a friend, Bo Schultz, for some professional video production services in late fall 2019, and while that effort had to be put in the back burner for a while, it got us to thinking about how we could work together in the future.

The aim, and our niche

With the belief that quality content documenting what we are doing here at Axe & Anvil has great potential for good and is important, Atlanta, Bo, and I put our heads together in early October 2020 to revisit collaborating and to explore ideas that we had been mulling over for a year since last working together. We have come to the conclusion that there is a definite need for more educational and inspirational content in the world- and in short, we have formed a partnership to build a self-sustaining content production side of Axe & Anvil- informally now referred to 'round here as Axe & Anvil Media. Our goal is to create more content that genuinely serves others- through education, inspiration, encouragement, and entertainment- and so that this effort will be durable long term, to figure out how to make this media venture self-sustaining and worth doing in terms of income. This is ambitious and requires a colossal amount of risk and hard work all the way around- but we are genuinely convinced of the value and worthiness of the pursuit. We could not be more excited about this venture together- but we are also under no illusions about the amount of work required.
We are starting to produce high-quality video content for platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and our own website- with photography to supplement those platforms and eventually other media outlets like newsletters, blog articles, and the like. While there are lots of folks out there making blacksmithing-related content, there's a major lack of content surrounding traditional/historical ironwork. I am very grateful for the recent rise in interest in blacksmithing, and have a lot of respect for all blacksmiths regardless of their style of work and working that are doing what they can to further the craft, but I am also very excited about showing the more historical side if the trade that I believe does not get the press it deserves. I am passionately interested in the way iron was commonly worked and the items that were produced almost entirely by hand before the industrial revolution of the 19th century, and the more I've been able to learn about those methods and the beautiful work they produce that is full of character no machine can reproduce, the more I believe they are worth preserving. I believe a side benefit of our focus on the historical side of blacksmithing is that we can use the interest and appeal of history to make our both our content and ironwork more interesting to a wide audience, regardless of their interest in participating in the craft. This is an advantage in the pursuit of our goal to re-popularize the craft of blacksmithing.

Why Patreon?

Well, it's something I've honestly shied away from for a long time. I don't like asking for money- and I won't be. But we've received a ton of encouragement from our friends and followers regarding how much they enjoy our content and what we're doing already, and a few have even expressed a serious interest in helping to support our efforts to share what we're into with others. And of course, we've had major support from folks who simply believe in us and/or the craft enough to want to buy our ironwork, and that is much appreciated. But for those that find enough value in our content to want to give back, and maybe don't really want or need ironwork, we're adding this option. Professional content production is worth every penny, but it doesn't come cheap. One thing is for sure- as a growing business venture, every cent helps- but just to be clear, I want no one to feel obligated or pressured to contribute- and we will continue to produce regular content that is free for anyone. But if you feel like we're doing you a service with our content, and you want to give back and know where your money is going- welcome aboard. And know that we are enormously humbled and encouraged by your support of our family, our business, the incredible art of blacksmithing, and hand-craftsmanship.