Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing
Conference 2025
Demonstrators
Leslie Tharp
Doug Wilson
Dates and Times
June 25, 2025 – Wednesday – 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm
June 26, 2025 – Thursday – 8:00 am to 10:00 pm
June 27, 2025 – Friday – 8:00 am to 10:00 pm
June 28, 2025 – Saturday- 8:00 am to 10:00 pm
June 29, 2025 – Sunday – 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Schedule
https://rockymountainsmiths.org/conference-schedule/
Registration
Coming Soon
Cost
$ 150.00 before May 26, 2025
$ 160.00 after May 26, 2025
Meals
Food trucks will be available on site for lunch and dinner.
Local restaurants are within a 10-minute drive of the site.
Breakfast burritos – pre-order with registration.
Scholarships
We have a few student grants available for people less than 18 years of age.
Location
- Dan Nibbelink
- 1932 1st Street
- Berthoud CO 80513
Directions
For the address see the registration site.
Overnight Accommodations
Space is available for overnight camping with tents or recreational vehicles.
No hook-ups provided.
Campers can arrive after noon on Wednesday June 15, 2025.
Hotels
There are many hotels in the Loveland, Colorado area
Safety
Please wear safety glasses and hearing protection in the forge.
T-Shirt Contest
Time for the 2025 Conference logo T-shirt contest.
Due Date: May 1, 2025
The rules are:
- Designs must be your original artwork
- It should have the date and Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing Conference
- The winner gets a free t-shirt and bumper sticker
Submit to:
Scott Kretschmer
196 Mule Deer Dr
Loveland, CO 80537
Email: president@rockymountainsmiths.org
Demonstrators Biography
Leslie Tharp
Leslie Tharp is a metal artist and blacksmith based out of Gainesville, FL. She received her bachelor’s in fine arts degree in 2008 from the University of Florida and was introduced to blacksmithing shortly after at Penland School of Craft when she signed up for a class with
Leslie specializes in public art and works to incorporate both modern and traditional techniques into her work. In addition to her studio practice Leslie is the owner and instructor of [Fe]ver Metal Art Center in Gainesville, where she teaches blacksmithing and welding classes.
Doug Wilson
I strive to produce commissioned work which is invested with my vision, sensibilities as a designer, and skill as a craftsman; work based upon my interaction with individuals and their environments. Whether speaking of projects for individual clients or work for public environments, this has always been an enticing and rewarding challenge. Although much of the work I design and produce is contemporary in design, most all is deeply rooted in traditional techniques. My work is based on working with fire, hammer and anvil; ancient processes of hot forging iron and steel. Thus, the work is invested with strong visual character of joinery details and surface features impossible to produce by any other methods.
Inspiration comes to me from many sources. Careful observation and study of the natural environment informs me. The nature of the materials, hot iron and steel, and their responses to being worked certainly are manifest. What are the characteristics of a project and of both the built and the natural environments where a project will reside? Often, coming to know my clients and how they will live with the work I make becomes significant in my designing. I believe that these objects I have made help illuminate the narrative of who we are, where we come from, what we believe in and what is unique or special about the places we call home.