Charleston Forge: Traditional Blacksmithing for Modern Furniture
Handmade For Over 30 Years
Charleston Forge was born in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains in the mid-1980s. Art and Susan Barber had opened a retail fireplace store 10 years earlier, using Art’s hand-forged baker’s rack and other pieces to display merchandise. At a customer’s suggestion, Art took some of his metal furniture to the High Point Furniture Market and set up a booth in an out-of-the-way corner using a borrowed rug. But he managed to sell a baker’s rack, and orders for more soon arrived. And for the past 30 years, Charleston Forge has been producing quality furniture at its facility in Boone, North Carolina.
Keeping it in America
Having kept its operations in America, despite economic pressure to move overseas, Charleston Forge employs around 40 craftsmen and women and supports other local businesses by using suppliers located within 100 miles of its manufacturing facility. An integral part of the fabric of Boone, the company also mentors design students at one of the local colleges.
Each Piece Unique and Made-to-Last
Every piece of furniture that Charleston Forge produces is made to order by talented artisans, many of whom have been with the company almost since the beginning. Helping to keep these historic skills alive, Charleston Forge combines classic blacksmithing techniques with new technology. You can really sense the pride of those who created each piece, the men and women who weld the steel and apply the finishes by hand, one table or chair at a time.
The beautiful, functional furniture of Charleston Forge is made with bases of solid steel that are designed to stand up to heavy use. (In fact, their steel is so strong that they also make pieces for restaurants, offices, and the granite and marble industry.) Style and strength go hand in hand in every piece of Charleston Forge furniture.