On February 10, 2024, 3 couples participated in a unique Valentine’s Day activity. They worked together to create a metal rose at the Shadow Mountain Forge in Collinston, Utah, as part of a 3-hour class. The fruit of their labor: a rose that will never wilt.
The instructor for the class, Lonnie Jensen, started Jensen and Sons Ironworks in 1998, and, in 2000, he bought Shadow Mountain Forge. Shadow Mountain Forge is a knife shop that makes Damascus blades with distributors throughout the country. In 2018, Lonnie started to forge Damascus steel and create knives; the blacksmith shop is a certified school with the American Blade Society, one out of eight in the entire world.
Shadow Mountain Forge not only sells specialized knives, they also offer workshops and classes for people interested in traditional blacksmithing techniques. This specific class was for couples; anyone could join regardless of experience level.
Most of these participants had never done blacksmithing or worked with steel before. Marie Winger, who came up with her husband from Lehi, Utah, for the class, stated that she “had never done this before…It’s fun! It’s difficult, more difficult than I thought, but it’s fun!” The other students echoed similar sentiments. Even though it was at times physically taxing, learning new skills and creating something together made the experience fun and exciting.
“I have never done this before…It’s fun! It’s difficult, more difficult than I thought, but it’s fun!”
Marie Winger
The couples started by heating up pieces of steel and hammering out triangle shapes that would eventually become leaves. They then created the shape of their stems so that their rose is either lying down or standing up. The roses are then assembled piece by piece. The last step is to weld the leaves onto the stem.
Each couple had the option to paint their rose or leave it; after spraying the roses with a rust protector, they are finished! The couples were also given a bottle of rose perfume to scent their roses after they returned home.
Lonnie hopes to continue these workshops for the public including another metal rose event for Mother’s Day. You can learn more about these classes on their website: https://www.shadowmountainforge.com/.
Story and photos by Emma George, the Heritage and Folk Art Coordinator for the Bear River Heritage Area.
Check out these additional photos in the gallery!
