Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/660193
48 SPRING 2016 Hand Forged Works, 1610 Osgood St., North Andover 970-596-6532, handforgedworks.com out a helical staircase built for a client with a 300-acre mountaintop property in the Catskills as his master- piece. "Spiral and freestanding helix staircases are the most complex staircases to build," he notes. Though Rummel respects the ancient nature of metalwork, he gleans ideas from Japanese design principles and appreciates clean, contemporary lines. "Metal work can get very ornate," he says, "and a little over the top and too fabulous." In contrast, he is more interested in "a grounding aesthetic." Forged steel and, nowadays, bronze are Rummel's primary media, but he also enjoys working with wood, stone, concrete, and glass. And everything he produces is one of a kind; he never replicates commissioned works, though he does have two product lines—belt buckles and bottle openers made with Colorado–sourced bronze, which he likes for its warmth. "It's a higher-caliber material…it's physi- cally warmer to your hand than steel," he explains. "It's more high-end, which is where I am aiming." Rummel says it's important to note that Hand Forged Works is not a one-man operation. He works with a small group of skilled artisans who help move projects along; he also sources work out to other shops, which enables him to take on larger, more compli- cated projects, stating, "A lot of architects think being a one-man show takes too long and is too expensive." Intentionally, he walks the line between being large- scale and singular. "That's the happy balance I am looking for." After decades spent working with his hands in so many capacities, the craftsman says: "There's some- thing to be said for spending a large chunk of my life producing these monumental products for other people…. It's a labor of love. It's a craft that's been around for a very long time, and I am trying to push it into the future." Above, Rummel in his North Andover shop; Left, Rummel is currently promoting his line of bronze bottle openers and belt buckles. Visit his website to see items for sale. inspire PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOEL LAI NO