What Eldsmidr Means

Eldsmidr.

Fire smith.

The name comes from old Norse words tied to fire and the smith — the maker who works with heat, tools and his hands.

When I found the name, I didn't need to think about it for very long.

It fit.

Not because I am trying to recreate some ancient world or pretend there are Vikings wandering around my workshop.

I just understand the fire.

For thousands of years, makers have sat beside it.

Metal goes in hard and unwilling.

Heat changes it.

The hammer gives it direction.

The hands of the smith decide when to strike and, perhaps more importantly, when to stop.

I have spent more than thirty years making things.

Houses.

Furniture.

Jewellery.

Tattoos.

Carvings.

Things made from wood, stone, steel, silver, gold and whatever else I could convince to cooperate.

The tools changed.

The need to create never did.

That is what Eldsmidr means to me.

It is the place where everything I have learned finally stopped needing a separate name.

Carpenter.

Goldsmith.

Blacksmith.

Tattoo artist.

Carver.

Builder.

They are simply different tools on the same bench.

At Eldsmidr Artisan Works, I create jewellery and objects by hand using silver, gold, copper and natural gemstones.

Some pieces are carefully planned.

Others find their shape somewhere between the fire and the hammer.

I believe the hand of the maker should remain in the work.

A hammer mark is not always a flaw.

A stone does not need to look like every other stone.

And a handmade piece should never feel as though it fell from a machine by the thousand.

Eldsmidr is about making one thing.

For one person.

And making it well enough that it may still be here when both of us are gone.

Made by fire.Marked by hand.Left behind.

— Chris Monsen
Founder & Artisan
Eldsmidr Artisan Works