Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirk Sullens.
Hi Kirk, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I discovered blacksmithing in a bookstore. I was just browsing when I came upon a copy of Alex Weygers “The Complete Blacksmith”. I grew up in the 70’s, during the “back to the land” movement, and anything that smacked of self-sufficiency was of interest to me. I picked up the book, and was instantly hooked. I found another book with a resource section that listed ABANA and a newspaper, “The Blacksmiths’ Gazette”. The Gazette had a list of blacksmithing schools, and there was actually one in Missouri (where I’m from)! When I called the number, I spoke to Bob Patrick, who said he hadn’t had a school in 12 years! However, I was about to be laid off from AT&T, where I was a long-distance operator (those of you who know me, I know, I know. I don’t know why they hired me, either). AT&T was willing to pay for retraining, and Bob was willing to take me on, so I got the best teacher I could have found, on someone else’s nickel. I spent six weeks of one-on-one with Bob, and got the foundation for my metalworking career. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
After working several years in an ornamental fabrication shop (making handrails, porch posts, fences, spiral stairways, etc.) I went to work in the metal shop of a major outdoor products retailer, making decor for their stores. I spent the next 15 years becoming a sculptor to meet the needs of that employer.
After leaving that shop in 2009, due to the downturn in the economy at the time, I moved to Florida and began teaching, which I had done in Missouri but do more now, and picking up commissions as they came to me. Sometimes, clients are very specific about what they want, sometimes they ask for my input, and sometimes they hand me a scribble on a cocktail napkin, and I’m on my own from there.
For students, I try to give them sufficient understanding of the fundamentals that they can continue to practice and progress. I also help them find all the many local and regional resources available to them.
Most of my materials come from local suppliers, and I particularly like dealing with locally owned businesses. Some materials are not as available locally, and I then use online resources, often owned by people I’ve known for many years within the blacksmithing community.
My shop is ‘open air’ but under cover. That can sometimes be problematic when it rains sideways, or when it’s extremely hot. But most of the time it’s a nice environment to work in.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As one of my early mentors told me in my beginning as a smith, I picked a wonderful way to make a lousy living! I think I suffer from the same malady that many artists/artisans share, which is that I’m good at what I do, but somewhat less so at running a business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I didn’t set out to be a sculptor. It was kind of thrust upon me.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
What’s the most important lesson? I don’t know, there have been so many. Certainly one is that keeping on, not quitting, and constantly trying to do better will actually allow you to get better. Once when talking with Bob Patrick, my first teacher, and a number of my early role models, Bob said, “I remember when you started you didn’t work very well with your hands.” And that is the truth. So I’m kind of the poster child for ‘if I can do this, YOU can do this!’ I don’t compete with other smiths. I compete with myself. I’m always trying to do better than I did before.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kirksullens.com
