We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erik Youngquist. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erik below.

Erik, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Schools need to stop treating careers in the trades as “less than”….If often seems that if a student doesn’t go to college it’s a loss, a failure. But the reality is that there are many paths to a successful, fulfilling work life. Even different definitions of what that is! Making a living with your hands, with your sweat and blood, most often is also making a living with your mind, problem solving, designing, and making, creating. There are kids who will go on to build important companies, run corporations, and be titans of industry. But there are also kids who will go on to build the things and places that make up our world, who will create art, both functional and just for the sake of it. Trades are not less important or less valid than white collar work. We need both to be successful society, and we owe it to our children to set them up on a path that leads to work they will enjoy and have a passion for, whether that’s in an office, a workshop, the great outdoors……

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My first exposure to blacksmithing was an old book about it my father brought home. We always meant to build a smithy but somehow never got around to it. Eventually my wife convinced me to take a beginning blacksmithing class, and I was immediately hooked. I already had a background in metalworking, having been a shipyard welder and mechanic for years. That had led to a job as a Chief Engineer on tugboats, which is still my primary occupation. However, that entails being away from home and at sea for a month or more at a time, and I really was getting tired of being gone from my home in Evaro, Montana. Blacksmithing is not only a passion for me but also a means to allow me to work out of my own smithy, without leaving my wife and home for half the year.

Folksvangr Forge, named after the field in front of the Norse goddess Freya’s hall, is a small one man blacksmith shop. I forge rustic and traditional hardware and tools mostly by hand, both for retail and custom orders. I’ve only had the business up and running for a few months, but already it is taking off. It’s incredibly satisfying to make things that people enjoy and will use in their daily lives. Unlike many blacksmiths, I make very few blades, choosing instead to focus on household items and tools. I’d like to make more axes in the future, something about the simplicity of that tool pleases me. And my long term goal is to move into ornamental iron work, such as wrought iron gates, fences, and rails.

Blacksmithing is an interesting mixture of art and manufacturing, by it’s handmade nature things made will reflect the person that made them. I enjoy watching raw metal become useful objects, and there is always something new to learn, whether you’ve been at it for a month or a lifetime.,

At Folksvangr Forge, we strive to provide lasting, beautiful traditional products to people. To bring a little beauty and charm into their life. I’d like to eventually have an apprentice as well, I would be very proud to be able to provide someone an opportunity to make a living at a craft they love.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is a vital part of marketing for almost any small business in the modern world. The ability to reach so many people is amazing, Not only can you bring in new customers but you can build a sense of community that fosters brand loyalty and connects you and your customers on a deeper level. That said, it’s not always easy!

Managing a business account is different in many ways than your personal page. The goal is slightly different, on your own page you’re just sharing your life. On the business page you’re trying to gain a customer relationship.

A good business account revolves around the content. One trap I’ve seen people fall into is treating it like a catalog, just product placement over and over. It’s important to showcase your product, but also include posts with videos of how you make it, of shop or store daily life, and don’t be afraid throw sone personal pictures in there, like maybe your dog doing something cute or you and you’re wife on your anniversary. I include content from time to time in general blacksmithing history for example. You are a small business, that’s your strength. That’s what sets you apart from the big guys. Show through your social media that personal touch and passion.

My other bit of advice is to post often!! I try to post daily, and rarely go more than a day or two without a new post. This will keep your feed popping up in peoples home pages. You don’t need amazing posts every time, just something that reflects who you are.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Currently I make most of my sales on Etsy. I’m a really new business, and Etsy is a super easy site to work with, providing access to a large customer pool and loads of marketing done for you. As a blacksmith, my products fit right into their target audience. Setting up a store was easy, they hold your hand right through it and provide lots of how to articles to help you grow your shop. It’s not all perfect though. First thing is there are a lot of fees. Etsy is better than a lot of other marketplaces, but it’s still a pretty big bite. It also takes a year or more of steady sales and work to really get an Etsy store to where it’s making significant money, although thats true anywhere. Finally, one flaw with online sales as a blacksmith is that metal work is heavy, and shipping is therefore expensive. Because of these reasons, I am working hard today n networking locally to find physical outlets for my work, encouraging custom orders, and I will be creating my own website to handle the online portion of my sales.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @folksvangr_forge
• Business Email: [email protected] 

Image Credits
Erik Youngquist