Competitive quotations may well elucidate the cheapest price, but will not necessarily provide the best answer or, as I have illustrated, different pricing covering the identical detailing and quality of work.

Choosing an artist blacksmith is not difficult. Artist blacksmiths are used to showing their work and will usually send photographs or slides on request. The chosen smith can then be commissioned directly to produce a design to a given figure for the piece involved. The budget figure is an important piece of developing a proposal which bears no relation to the available funds. Since each piece of work is specially made, there is no standard price. A 2m wide gate may cost �500 or �5000 and could be cheap (or expensive) at either price. It would simply be a very different gate.

The smith does not necessarily need a detailed written brief, but he does need a clear understanding of the requirements, if he is to provide the best answer. This might include;

1. All the utilitarian and aesthetic objectives - broadly, what is the piece meant to do?
2. Dimensional information and details of the site ( where appropriate) - any special problems of access or difficult surfaces to which the piece must be fixed.
3. The finish required.
4. The time schedule for the work.
5. The budget cost figure. A site visit and some discussion before finalizing this information is important, and the earlier the stage at which this consultation takes place the more useful it is likely to be.

Most smiths are operating very small businesses and would therefore expect to be paid in stages as the work proceeds. Many smiths prefer to fix their own work, while some would prefer it to be undertaken by others. Either way, this responsibility needs to be clearly agreed.

Author: Peter Parkinson

ArtMetal Editor/Curator: enrique

Last Updated: Tue, Nov 14, 1995