Avon River Metalworks is a creative working studio owned and operated by Al Simm. With over 20 years experience working with metal, Al started Avon River Metalworks in 2002 and has been designing and creating artistic sculptures and functional architectural pieces for clients around the Maritimes.
Our Products The Spirits of LunenburgIronworks is a micro-distillery located in the old port of Lunenburg on Nova Scotia's historic South Shore. We take our name from the 1893 heritage building we call home: a marine blacksmith's shop that once produced ironworks for the shipbuilding trade. We craft our spirits with the same love of traditional methods and attention to detail. To see what we're up to, have a look around our site.
What I find most exhilarating about forge work is the physical act of creating brand new forms out of just steel and fire and energy. Forging is dirty, hot, physically demanding work, but being able to finish each day having created something real with my own hands has a satisfaction all it's own. The strength and toughness of iron, the challenge of manipulating it with speed and accuracy at high heats, and the tools and techniques necessary to transform the material, all fascinate me. I strive to create pieces that play with contrasts and possibilities, that evoke the movement of wind or the growth of plants while in their essence remain cold hard iron. I love making functional art as well as sculpture, jewelry and architectural work, and I believe it adds much to our lives to surround ourselves with creations that contain in them the energy and emotions of the artisan.