An amazing experience of building a replica of Slovenian symbol

This project was one of my favourites! In collaboration with National Museum of Slovenia, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Mangart production (and many others) we created 1:1 replica of Triglav tower (also called Aljaž tower or in Slovenian “Aljažev stolp”). While creating this replica we were also filming an amazing documentary called “Aljažev stolp: Ta pleh ima dušo” , which captures the history and importance of this symbol for our nation.

Together with Miha Moric we were responsible to create the tower from scratch, meaning all the metal and blacksmithing work was done by us. I’m honored to be one of the team, which has a picture on the top of Slovenia not with one, but with two towers! The replica is now safely stored in a museum. So, if you don’t feel like climbing to Triglav, you can always go check it out in town.

One man’s trash, another man’s treasure

Not a lot of people can see potential in old, rusty things. They usually throw them away and thus ruin a bit of our history. It breaks my heart, but sometimes I’m lucky enough to meet a customer who shares the same view. In this case, I met a guy who wanted not only to keep, but to restore more than a 100 years old Johan Jax sewing machine, which was in his family for quite a while. Of course I was more than happy to help!

It took quite an effort and innovative ideas how to actually dissemble this magnificent machine to see if anything is missing or needs to be replaced. Of course I needed to have in mind how to put all the parts back together again later, which was quite a challenge. All parts were sandblasted and then sprayed with protective colour. I hand coloured the details with gold, trying to give it its original glory. Since I couldn’t find the original design of the fly wheel, I’ve decided to keep it as it was. With that I tried to preserve as much history as possible, instead of painting it plan black and ruin the original design.

I can tell the customer was more than happy and restored Johan Jax is still a proud part of the showcase in his shop.

Drinking beer with style

These unique beer mugs are almost the only “non-metal” thing I create (besides the sheath for my blades). The mugs are made from one piece of wood, so each one is unique. I coat the inside with special bee wax, which protects them and makes them suitable for drinking. Bee wax is the natural protection and it doesn’t leave any taste in your drink. Afterwards I also protect the outside with protection lacquer to prolong their durability. Wood is also a natural cooler, so it keeps the drink cold in the hot summer days. This is another good reason to choose natural wood over other materials.

I use pyrographic technique to draw any kind of picture of your choosing. So far I’ve drawn different logos, anime characters, fantasy elements, WoW related pictures and even portraits! So, whatever you want, I can draw it on the mug. Since they are handmade, it’s hard to precisely measure its content – the mugs come in smaller version (approx. 0,3 l) and larger version (from 0,5 up to 0,7 l).

Don’t hesitate and order your own! Btw, it makes a great gift too! (;

Want to have your own? Order it here!

Project Navis and collaboration with archeological Group Stik

Every year a special project is delivered by archeological group Stik, which focuses on creating of huge historic wooden boat. It takes place at old part of Ljubljana called Špica, where, after finishing it, they put the boat directly into the river Ljubljanica. This project can take up to a few months to finish, since they are carving up the boat without any electrical tools, just like they did it in the past. I was happy to collaborate with them in creation of their second wooden boat, where I was forging directly on building site and creating an unique set of historic nails and iron fittings for the boat.

The project tested not only my creativity, but also my blacksmithing skills. It was a positive challenge, learning and solving problems on the go. Since the final event was published and approaching fast, the element of time pressure was present, too. The guys are an excellent team to work with and I had no doubt we would deliver it on time!

Follow their web page or Facebook for future Navis or other acheological projects.

Want to know more about the project?
Contact me!

Classic or modern design for your home

When you mention forged furniture, most people have in mind something curvy, traditional or rich with patterns and full of design. It is not neccessary. As my motto says – traditional forging in the modern age – blacksmithing also needs to develop and adapt to current trends and wishes of customers. Sure, we can still create traditional fences, but the real challenge appears when you try to combine new and old, modern and classic. I believe traditional techniques can still be used to create something completely out of the box.

In my career so far, I’ve created numerous different products, unfortunately not all were documented. In this section you can find a gallery of various furniture and equipment, but feel free to send me a query about anything you want, even if you can’t find it in the section below. New and creative designs are something I love the most. If you can imagine it or draw it, I can forge it!

Some of the products I created so far are:

• unique house numbers and different signs,
• coffee or other tables,
• door handles and old school locks,
• fireplaces and candlesticks,
• wooden and forged chests and drawers,
• curtain pools and handles,
• unique wine glass holders (great gift idea),
• and many many more.

Because safety of our pets can be luxurious too

Why would you put our pets into small boxes, if you can have custom designed car barrier in your car trunk where your pet will have much more space? And all of that for the affordable price of a box that usually others offer. So far I created many custom barriers for different types of cars. Since I’m good with metals, all options of size are available. I can create storage for your pet equipment and also a luxurious, spacious and safe place for your pet as well. It all depends on your wishes.

You need this for your car too?
Order it here!

I believe custom designs are a better use of your space for having different storages within your trunk when you’re not driving your pet around. So if you’re tired of searching for a typical box, you’ve came to the right place.