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The Indiana Blacksmithing Association, Inc., is a your volunteer-run organization.
Membership in the Indiana Blacksmithing Association, Inc. is open to all persons. We welcome you!
The Association is a Not-For-Profit Indiana Corporation formed in 1980 with the purpose of gathering and disseminating information about the craft of blacksmithing. It also seeks to make the public more aware of this ancient craft and the changes which are occurring in blacksmithing today.
The Association publishes a monthly newsletter "The Forge Fire" with information of interest to blacksmiths and metal workers. As a member you are welcome and encouraged to submit articles for publication, ads for blacksmith related materials you have for sale or want to buy, and inquiries for needed information. Material to be published may be sent in typed form. It may also be sent in long hand and it will be typed for you. Please be sure to include your name, address, and phone number so that we may contact you if we have a question. Depending on the need to publish other material, your material may not be included in the next issue. We reserve the right to edit material.
The Association holds meetings each month at various locations around the state. Information about these meetings is included in the newsletter preceding each meeting. You are urged to attend, ask questions, and participate. Getting to know the various smiths around the state and their various skills can be of considerable help to you when you have questions about materials, processes, and tools. Guests are always welcome!
To assist you in broadening your knowledge, the Association operates a lending library. A listing of the books, materials, and VHS videotapes in the library is updated each March for the Annual Business Meeting. Materials added during the year are mentioned in The Forge Fire. You are encouraged to use the library and to contribute blacksmith/metalsmith related items. The Librarian and library are available at many meetings and materials can be sent to you if necessary. The Librarian can provide further information and explain our loan policy.
To help support the newsletter, an Iron-In-The-Hat raffle is held at nearly every meeting. You are asked to bring items useful in blacksmithing/metalworking and to contribute these to the raffle. Tickets are sold for one dollar each and the items are raffled during the meeting. We hope you will participate. This is a very good way to get rid of the items you no longer need.
The Association holds a conference the first weekend in June to which skilled demonstrators are invited. In this way we all hope to broaden our knowledge. Information about this conference is carried in The Forge Fire and the conference brochure. To cover the cost of this conference, a separate fee is charged. We urge you to attend and support the conference.
The Association operates a store to make IBA items such as pins, hats, and t-shirts available. It also carries hard-to-locate safety items, which are wanted by our members. The store is available most meetings.
If you have questions about your membership or the Association, please contact the Membership Secretary, Farrel Wells.
The Association is one of some fifty affiliates of the Artist-Blacksmiths' Association of North America, Inc. ( ABANA ). ABANA has nearly 4000 members in North America and many foreign countries. You will benefit from membership in ABANA, it's publications, and biennial conferences. Join Now!
As part of the membership dues, you receive the monthly newsletter, which is about 12 pages long and contains news items about the IBA and blacksmithing in general. It contains activity reports from the satellite groups and has several projects in it. Additionally, your membership dues help us pay for insurance during IBA events. Your dues also help to pay for hosting this web-site. So print out the form, write that check and mail it to our membership secretary.
Membership dues are paid at the time of application and are renewed at the time of registration for the annual conference which takes place during the first weekend in June. Dues are $ 20.00 for an individual and $ 25.00 for a family (usually a spouse). If you would like an application form mailed to you or have any other questions, please contact Farrel Wells.
Alternatively, download the Membership Application, fill it in and mail it to Farrel Wells.
Below is the list of past winners.
| Rookie Blacksmith | Blacksmith | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dominick Andrisani | John Steppe |
| 2007 | Michael Wollowski | Clifton Ralph |
| 2008 | Greg Searcy | Kenny Dettmer |
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