Some things are free, but much more with Membership!

On 19/06/11 6:28 PM, John wrote:

Is it true that the iron smelt is on Thurs. only? That is my primary interest at the conference ...

The iron smelt by members of the Dark Ages Re-Creation Company will take place over the full day of Thursday 28, the opening day of CanIRON 8. The team will start the furnace build roughly 9 am, expects to be ready for the start of main sequence by noon, pulling the bloom roughly 4:30 - 5 pm.

This is a free, public outreach part of the conference. I'm expecting that I personally will be stuck running around organizing, but feature demonstrators Mike McCarthy and Jesus Hernandez are members of the "Early Iron Underground" and will be able (Mike especially) to lend a hand.

Of course you might expect that I should be plugging the full four day conference!

Jesus Hernandez, who works in the Japanese bladesmithing traditions, will be taking part of the DARC iron bloom and later demonstrating forging it down to a blade blank.


If you are interested in ancient historical methods, I think you will be interested in the (amazing) work of Jake Powning, who will be demonstrating Viking Age style pattern welding (twisted composite core), plus lecturing on his blend of Celtic and Norse designs.


There is a packed schedule of feature demonstrations, hands on workshops, lectures and panel sessions for paid registrations to CanIRON 8. One of the missions of the hosting organization, the Ontario Artist Blacksmith Association, is to inform and educate the general public about the 'art and mystery' of the blacksmith. For that reason we have included a full program of public outreach events.

Other aspects of CanIRON 8 which are being presented as FREE public access:

- Friday & Saturday (roughly 9-12 a + 1:30-4 p): Come see members of OABA, under David McCort, work on completing the Fergus Park Bench project.
- the Gallery is open daily from 1:30 - 4:30 p, including 'meet the artist' sessions
- our Auction takes place Saturday starting at 6:30 p, bid on original hand forged art pieces (plus smithing related items like tools and hands on courses)
- 'Hammer In' style demonstrations, Sunday 9 - 12 a, where members of OABA will present their skills using a range of forge equipments and working styles.
- Forging Competition, Sunday 1:30 - 4:30 p, always a lot of action and highjinks as teams of smiths (stuggle?) to make an object with limited materials and time.

For further information:

CanIRON 8 web site
Registration
Schedule

PUBLIC Auction - at CanIRON 8

- (of special interest to the Blacksmithing community)

CanIRON 8 will be hosting an auction, open FREE to the general public, on Saturday July 30, 6:30 - 9 pm.
The action will take place at Wellington County Sportsplex, Fergus Ontario.

We are seeking objects of all kinds to be sold at this auction:
- Individual value should be + $50
- Ideally items should be blacksmithing related : Tools / Forged pieces / other objects of interest
- Items DONATED to OABA will be sold to offset CanIRON's cost
- Individuals may contribute PERSONAL items for sale, subject to a 30% commission
- All sales will be 'cash and carry'
- For conference members, your registration is also your auction number

REMEMBER - With the general public in attendance, we expect prices for original hand forged work to be HIGH!�

Volunteers Needed!

Fellow Members,

As I write this there are just 46 days to the start of CanIron VIII.

For nearly two years a small group of people have put in countless volunteer hours on your behalf to organize this event. The hard work has been done for you. What we need now is for every member who is attending CanIron to help out and volunteer just a few hours of their time if they are able to. We need people to man the gates, help at the forging stations, sell tickets and especially for set up and take down. Every blacksmithing event relies on volunteers, some more than others. With this event we need more than the few who have already signed up. There are no special blacksmithing skills needed, just a willingness to help, so please get in touch with Dan Linkenheld dlinkenheld@ gmail.com or myself barbmick@xplornet.com.

Remember this is our event, no one can do it for us. It is us who will benefit from what we all put into it.

Thanks & be safe

Mick Smith

CanIRON Shirts - PRICE CHANGES

Well, the truth is that the CanIRON 8 team *did* screw up a bit here.

We had set our original price for the CanIRON 8 T-shirts based on a general quote for the cost of shirts, printing, plus a (small!) mark up. In general discussion later, it was decided to stick to a higher quality MADE IN CANADA shirt. Our goof was that the better quality does cost more, and we forgot to adjust the price accordingly.

The published pre-order price is actually slightly LESS than our COST for these Canadian Made shirts!

Starting (today) May 15, the cost for the CanIRON 8 shirts will be:

Pre-order : Before June 15
Sizes - S / M / L / XL - @ $15 each
Sizes - 2XL / 3XL - @ $18 each

At CanIRON 8 : All Sizes - @ $20 each

Note:
1) Anyone who pre-ordered EARLY will keep the 'below cost' price they have already paid!
2) The difference in price for the oversizes reflects the cost price difference from the supplier.

BALL CAPS

To date there have only been TWO pre-orders for the offered CanIRON 8 ball caps. For that reason, the organizing team has decided to CANCEL the order of hats.
Those people who did pre-order will be given a full refund of course.


The lesson is : Order Early!
Remember that pre-registration for CanIRON 8, before May 31, will save you $25 of your admission price.

Early Bird Gallery Drop May Get You Media Coverage.

For those who are planning to bring a piece and/or pieces to the Gallery to show, here is something you may want to think about. We are planning to have an Opening Ceremony Media Event on Thursday the 28^th around 1pm. We have the Mayor and the City Council of Fergus attending to accept the presentation of the Bench and do a media kickoff for the event to get their initial sound bites and a few shots for their viewers. Our publicity liason will be walking the media around after the opening ceremonies to show them some of the highlights and help get them shots of things their viewers might appreciate. One of those stops will be the GALLERY. Those who drop off their work early in the game have a chance that their pieces will get caught by the camera and get FREE MEDIA EXPOSURE. The gallery will start accepting works at 9 am and while there are no guarantees, those pieces that are dropped off early will certainly have had time to be processed and displayed to their best advantage in the hope that they WILL get media coverage and entice the buying public to come to see our Gallery.

Please make your best effort to get your pieces there early so that we can try to make you famous!

Sales at CanIRON 8 ?

Thinking about taking the opportunity to sell something to those gathered for CanIRON 8 at Fergus? Here is the lowdown on what is available to you:

Tail Gate Area

There will be an area available to paid CanIRON 8 REGISTRANTS ONLY for more casual 'tail gate' styled sales.
- Only full paid registrants can set up in this area - there is NO ADDITIONAL COST.
- Only full paid registrants will have access to the area (as customers)
- The basic space is 10 x 15 feet (a 'truck')
- Vehicles can access the area ONLY :
Thursday - 11 to 12 AM / 5 - 6 PM
Friday & Saturday - 8 to 9 AM / 5 to 6 PM
Sunday - 8 to 9 AM / 1:30 - 5 PM
NOTE : There are no other 'in and out' privileges, 'once its parked, it stays the day'
- Area will only be fenced off during stated hours, no security is provided.
- Participants can set up their own overhead booth with tables if they wish, no electric will be provided.

The Gallery

Paid registrants to CanIRON 8 can offer the objects they display in the Gallery for sale. Remember the gallery is open to the general public (free admission, 1:30 to 4:30 PM each day). Gallery staff will NOT be handling direct sales, but will collect contact information from potential purchasers. You will have to make the arrangements with the customers to complete the sales. CanIRON 8 asks that a good will honourarium of 5% of the sale be donated to the CanIRON 9 (2013) fund.

The Auction

An auction, open to the general public, will be held on Saturday from 6:30 - 9 PM. Individuals may chose to sell items via this auction. Please, only objects or tools related to blacksmithing. There will be a 30% COMMISSION off the sales price withheld by CanIRON 8. (Remember that HST will apply to these sales.)

Vendor's Spaces

There are a number of commercial vendor's spaces available in a special (outdoor) area of the CanIRON 8 grounds. These spaces are OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC (free admission) for specified hours.
- The basic space is 10 x 10 feet @ $100 (+HST) / 10 x 20 @ $150 (+HST)
- You must supply your own booth and fixtures.
- Limited provision for electric power can be arranged.
- Open hours : Thursday - 1 to 6 PM
Friday & Saturday - 9 AM to 6 PM
Sunday - 9 AM to 1:30 PM
- Set up : Thursday - 9 AM to 12 noon
- Tear down : Sunday - 1:30 to 5 PM
- Vehicle access : 8 to 9 AM / 6 to 7 PM - ONLY (no 'in and out' privileges)
- Area will be fenced off outside public hours, BUT NO SECURITY IS PROVIDED.
- Renting a vendor's space DOES NOT include membership access to the CanIRON 8 grounds.
More information on applying as a CanIRON 8 Vendor is available as a PDF download

Just want to help CanIRON 8 out?

CanIRON 8 would be more than happy to accept donations of items that will support our fundraising efforts. Small items are ideal for the popular Iron in the Hat draws, which will be taking place daily over the event. Larger items donated will be sold at the public auction. In either case, full mention of your kind support will be made verbally and on our list of supporters.
More information on becoming a Sponsor of CanIRON 8 is available as a PDF download


Sorry that there has not been too much new content here of late. We have been too busy WORKING on CanIRON 8 - to have time to just write about working!

Five Reasons to Put Something in the Gallery at CanIRON

Why should you bring your best pieces to the Gallery?

1) To show your fellow blacksmiths in the community what it is that you are up to.

No matter whether you have made your first hook or your 40th candleholder, the gallery is about showing what you are doing for all levels of smithing. Seeing something by an early smith reminds some who have been smithing longer how far they've come, and might even remind them of how exciting their first project was. Seeing the work of smiths who have been at it for a while inspires the up and coming smiths and gives them work to aspire to. Sharing ideas and the love of what we do is a large part of what the gallery is about.

2) To show the public what we do and how we do it.

Bring a work in progress, show your tooling for a specific piece - the art of blacksmithing is a bit of a mystery to the public. It has its own draws, but for someone trying to build a business, it also has its own drawbacks. The public is where people get their customers whether they are making coathooks, tables, gates or art pieces. They need to have some understanding of the amount of time, effort and work that goes into what we do. As smiths it is true that we need to sell the sizzle, but dazzle them too much with single heat tricks or quick demos and they forget that when they ask for that gate it is a lot of brainpower and manpower to make it happen. If they have a bit of an understanding of how we get from a to b it is easier for them to understand the benefits of them coming to us rather than the local garden centre for that gate.

3) To get a Gallery on your blacksmithing resume.

If you've ever toyed with trying to get a grant, get something in a gallery or even to start selling or demonstrating at a local craft show, having public showing or sales of your work is really important. Most gallery spaces won't touch an unknown artist. Remember, most galleries make their money off of sales of the artists they display. If the artist on offer can't bring in browsers or buyers, that gallery may not be around long.

4) It helps OABA in the long run.

The better the showing at the Gallery (as well as the better the attendance at the conference) the better OABA looks for any future projects we undertake. The gallery will be photographed and the number and variety of pieces will work for us in the future. The next time we want to host CanIRON, or the next time we want to bring in a demonstrator we will have the successes we create now to help us get funding for travel and other similar things. The Gallery is our largest public outreach feature at the conference and its success can make a big difference in the way that we are viewed from the outside.

5) Because it is fun and it gets feedback.

Many of us work alone most of the time. We get together from time to time to share ideas and get a new approach to problems. We can take pieces we are proud of (or photos of them) to meetings. However, there is nothing like seeing your work displayed and watching people you've never met before have a look at it for the first time. Whether it is other blacksmiths who have an understanding of or are learning the process or whether it is someone for who it is all a great mystery... it is a feeling that cannot be duplicated. (Except by doing it again!)

And remember - anyone who is attending the conference can bring any blacksmithing/metalsmithing related work to the gallery and it will be shown.

This post is actually a Kelly post, but in trying to figure out the mechanics of getting Kelly on the blog, it looks like Darrell.