We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jody & Jennifer Lyddane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jody & Jennifer , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Both of our parents instilled in us the drive to keep pushing. Accomplish your dreams and pursue what makes you happy. We compliment one another and challenge one another in our craft. We are our biggest critiques and if something doesn’t make sense or align correctly we point it out.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

We both use the art of bladesmithing as an avenue to display our unique creativity. We desire to encourage our children to pursue their dreams and constantly remove themselves from their comfort zones. We both competed on the History Channel’s Forged in Fire. Jennifer was asked to return and won season 8 episode 16. We enjoy making distinct one of kind pieces and specialize mostly in damascus pattern welded steels using a variety of metals. We combine each piece with hand stitched leather that compliment each other. Jody is full time military and Jennifer is a licensed master Barber so we often have to balance life, career, family, and business.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to create unique one of a kind pieces that become family heirlooms. We want our clients to be proud of their investment and get as much enjoyment out of them as we had building them. We desire to be Master Bladesmiths in the future and create a reputable reputation within the knife making community. Once we retire we would like to pursue the business full time.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect to our artistry is revealing the final product to the client and seeing their reaction. We enjoy the reviews of our pieces and the stories that often accompany the requests. For example, a client’s father had passed and he wished to have blades built for all seven of his siblings from a saw blade that belonged to their father. Or a client who wanted two blades made from his father’s .50 caliber rifle barrel, one for himself and one for his brother. We love making pieces that have a sintemental story aspect.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.jlforge.com
• Instagram: Jlforge & Lipstick Blacksmith
• Facebook: JL Forge & Lipstick Blacksmith

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