Our Story

Meet the Maker

My name is Heyden Labelle and was born in southeast Michigan to a family with a fond connection to creativity. My lifetime of art began with a pencil in my hand as I doodled in the margins of textbooks and the back of homework papers. While artistry came somewhat naturally to me and my family, I always put forth effort to improve myself and broaden my artistic ability. I took every art class in every semester of every year I went to school, and when I made it to senior year I even took two art classes. That year was the second enrollment in my high school’s advanced art class, while the other class I had the pleasure to be a teacher’s assistant for.

It was when I was a boy that my first spark of interest in blacksmithing came to me. I don’t remember the exact catalyst, but I recall a fascination with the fantasy of gallant knights in shining armor, bearing mighty weapons used to slay dragons and legendary monsters. The stories of King Arthur, The Lord of the Rings, Dragonheart, and Norse legends became part of that interest—especially the mythology behind mystical smiths that made magical armaments. I recall once in middle school when I was making plans with my friends to grow up and become blacksmiths. We were kids with our heads in the clouds, and time quickly taught us that such dreams were unrealistic.

After graduation, art became more difficult to upkeep—and eventually I spent a few years without making art. It wasn’t until finally moving away to my own home—and even a few years thereafter—that my artistic flame was rekindled. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, had gifted me a small forged knife. She told me it was made by a blacksmith. At that time, I thought blacksmiths no longer existed—and my curiosity naturally steered me to delve further into that rabbit hole. Thanks to the blacksmiths of YouTube, my old interest in the ancient craft came to life. I watched videos every day, and eventually I thought I may have watched all there was to find. I commissioned some axes from other makers, and that was the final push I needed. I decided to try blacksmithing—in spite of having no tools or experience. Such things never stopped me before.

I purchased a small section of railroad track off an Etsy shop and made my first forge out of a bread tin, plaster, sand, and black pipe. I had a hammer to work with, so I found whatever charcoal was available and started striking steel in my front yard. While I wasn’t able to get much done with those first rudimentary tools, it was an important step toward finalizing my path to being a blacksmith. Over the years I researched endlessly, read books, watched videos, practiced, and brought one tool at a time. Now, I have a small but mighty workshop that I comfortably forge steel in around another job.

Every day I continue to forge this path, with the hope that one day it alone will be enough to sustain my family while I do what I always dreamt of.