Ironwood Heritage Crafts was established to learn, foster, and pass on the skills and tools of self-sufficient living. We are all about creating independence and self-sufficiency for ourselves, and teaching others to do the same.
Ironwood Heritage Crafts values:
- Self-Sufficient Living
- Family and Friends
- Good and healthy foods
- Preservation of forgotten skills and arts
- Mentorship
- Hard Work
- Love of Nature
- Control over how we spend the precious moments of our lives
Ironwood News
Your Host, Gord
Hello Friends! Thank you for coming to this website and checking it out.
If you don't know it, I am actually a Professional Engineer (or at least I was!), and while engineering has been really good to me (as has teaching at the College), my true passion lies with being an artisan craftsman. I love leatherworking, woodworking, blacksmithing, beer-making, and just anything made by hand with skill and care.
I am also a firm believer in Mentoring, the passing on of knowledge and skills. Mentors have emerged in my life at various times and I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without their wisdom, guidance, and example. I acknowledge with gratitude the role that these individuals have played in my life, and I aspire to do, in some small way, the same for others.
One of the main reasons for founding Ironwood Heritage Crafts is to empower people by passing on useful knowledge and skills. Please check out our “Workshops” section for more details.
Our Story
Years ago, when we were young and idealistic, my late wife Myriam and I shared a dream of owning a country property where people from all walks of life could come and learn, not only forgotten skills, but the joy of crafting beautiful and unique creations by hand. It was going to be part bed and breakfast, part school for eager crafters, and part refuge from the clatter and burdens of daily life. To prepare, we took courses in diverse things like cheese-making and blacksmithing. We learned new skills and practiced our art. We were going to have an orchard and bees. We were going to take control of our lives, and live life on our own terms. And even though at the time we had no money to purchase it, we would spend our Sunday afternoons driving the country backroads looking for “our” land.
We eventually found it, our land—a hundred acres of gorgeous hardwood forest (complete with sketchy log cabin) just outside the Village of Commanda in Northern Ontario. But by that time, however, the circumstances of our lives had drastically changed. Time passed, and life happened. It would have been easy to lose sight of that dream.
That, however, was not to be the end of the story. It took a long time and a ton of hard work but things are now back on track, having emerged from heartache and loss with a new focus in life. If there is one thing that I’ve learned through all of this, it is that life is short, and if there are things that you need to be doing in this life, you need to get going on them. No excuses. And although she is no longer with us, the dream we shared lives on in Ironwood Heritage Crafts: School for Independent and Self-Sufficient Living.
Gord
Our Space
Ironwood Heritage Crafts is located on a very private and very beautiful 100 acre parcel of hardwood forest just outside the Village of Commanda, Ontario. We are 45 minutes from North Bay, and approximately 3 hours North of the GTA.
Open year round, it is home to my studio, gardens, forge, and orchard. There are campsites and bunkies available to rent., and because there is no light pollution, the sky on a clear night is an awe-inspiring scene! The grounds, as beautiful as they are, are an ever-evolving work in progress, and there is always some building project or garden expansion going on!
The forest is comprised mostly of maple, yellow birch, and black cherry, and is actively managed. It is my source of firewood and lumber, and is home to all sorts of wildlife. One of my goals in life is to leave this patch of forest better and healthier than it was when I acquired it. It seems like an appropriate legacy, one I would be proud of.
Our Friends
Who comes to Ironwood Heritage Crafts? Typically, they are:
- People seeking to build Independence and Self-Sufficiency in their own lives.
- People looking to explore alternatives to urban living
ie: people wanting to get out of the city. - People looking to learn new skills and experience the satisfaction of making something by hand.
- People looking to improve their health, both physical and mental, through good food and contact with nature.
- People seeking community and like-minded souls.
In other words, people like I was twenty-five years ago, living in the heart of Toronto and wasting away the precious moments of my life commuting to work, but all the while searching for something better and not knowing exactly what or how to go about finding it.
If this sounds like you, perhaps consider coming to Ironwood Heritage Crafts for a visit, or try one of our workshops. I like to believe that people show up as “clients”, but they always leave as “friends”.
Our Food
At Ironwood Heritage Crafts we believe that nothing is more important to an Independent and Self-Sufficient life than the ability to produce your own food! And nothing tastes better than fresh, natural foods that you’ve grown yourself!
From gardens to chickens, orchard to bees, good food is key to what keeps us going here! Come learn to make maple syrup in the spring, or visit in the fall to learn how to preserve the harvest for winter. Learn to save seeds, or how to plant a garden. We offer a variety of food related workshops that will be the cornerstone of your journey to Independence!
Our Craft
When not busy in the gardens, with some building project, or running workshops, I like to hang out in my studio and practice my craft.
Although I really enjoy woodworking (and when I can, I love firing up the forge!), I consider myself primarily a leather worker. I produce a variety of beautiful and unique handmade leather goods like bags, purses, cases, and a lot of custom items. You can also find me throughout the year at various craft shows.
Our Workshops
We run a number of workshops to help people acquire the skills, knowledge, and confidence to get going on their journey of Independence and Self-Sufficiency. Most are seasonal in nature, and all are run for small groups only (typically two to eight people). The schedule is published in early March, so keep an eye out for it in the “News” section, or on our Instagram and Facebook feeds.
Unfortunately, not all of the courses that are offered are run every year (there are only so many weekends available to us), however, we try to be flexible. Be sure to check the workshop status. If there is a workshop that you are interested in but is not on the schedule for this year, please let us know and we will do what we can to accommodate you!
In addition to personally running various workshops, I am very pleased to have a number of guest instructors bringing their knowledge and passion to Ironwood Heritage Crafts.
We are always looking for other knowledgeable and talented people to run workshops. If you have a skill or craft that you think might be complementary to our mission, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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