The Good Shit - Straight from the source we take 5 with Alex The Blacksmith
One thing you'll get to know about Robert is he has a real knack of sniffing out "The Good Shit" - He is like a Dachshund down a Badger hole.
In the first of the Meet The Maker series we take 5 with our resident Blacksmith Alex Scheibner of Rylstone Forge and pick his brain about The Central West of NSW and how he came to be stocked in Molong Stores.
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Tell us how you ended up in The Central West
A.T.B-Smith: I had finished my apprenticeship and came back from a journeymanship studying in the USA wanting to open my own workshop/ studio. Rylstone was the best fit for space and lifestyle yet still close to Sydney.
You’re playing host for the day - tell us top 3 must do’s in and around Molong
A.T.B-Smith: 1: Molong Stores! 2: Bennies second hand store 3: no idea, there's fuck all to do in Molong!
What is it you make and how did you realise you were really good at it
A.T.B-Smith: I’m first and foremost a trade blacksmith, like my grandfather and 5 generations behind him. I guess I wanted to be a blacksmith since I was a little boy and just found the right people to make it happen, both here in Australia and the USA. I'm not sure I'm really good at it but I keep working to improve and learn every time I light the forge and pick up a hammer.
Editor's note: He is really good at it
Complete this sentence - If I wasn’t making stuff I’d be doing
A.T.B-Smith: TIME...
What is the one bit of sage advice you can offer to someone just starting out
A.T.B-Smith: Find a master blacksmith and ask for an apprenticeship, be humble and learn. There's nothing worse than having someone come into you workshop and profess to be the next Samuel Yellin all up in your grills! I followed a very traditional apprenticeship model of 4 years working for master blacksmiths and then 6 months of an unpaid journeymanship. About 10 years ago I did another apprenticeship as a mechanical fitter. I felt going back to being the bottom of the pack was a character building experience.
Shameless plug now, Hey Alex complete this sentence - You should shop at Molong stores because?
A.T.B-Smith: Robbie has an excellent eye and he’s created a shop that will become a destination, the best place in the central west to get that thing you’ve always needed!
Find Alex's work exclusive to Molong Stores and here