I Taught My 16 Year Old Daughter How To Make These Gorgeous Realistic Flowers From Metal

Metalworking is my passion. Now I've been able to share that passion with my daughter, by teaching her to make gorgeous and realistic everlasting metal flowers by hand. These beautiful flowers will never wilt or die.

I started working with metal at the age of 15, eventually earning my journeyman welding certification. I started my own company back in 2004, and have been building custom projects for people ever since. I also learned to forge iron the traditional way, using a forge, anvil, and hammer. There is an old saying that "By hammer and hand, all arts do stand", and some things can only be passed down in person by doing and with practice, not by reading them in a book. Metalworking is one of those arts, and takes time and patience to learn. I've devoted my life to learning and teaching the riddle of steel, becoming a master craftsman and artisan in the process.

My oldest daughter Trinity is a born maker herself, and an artist who draws and paints. When she started to show an interest in metalworking, I knew I had a unique and rare opportunity to pass on my knowledge and skills.

I began by teaching her to weld with oxyacetylene, a dying art in itself, and eventually, I began to be able to show her how to shape metal in unique and beautiful ways. Since she's still young and I wanted to get her excited about metal art, I decided to show my daughter how to make realistic metal flowers. The metal flowers we sell are known for their beauty and realism. This has always been one of the most popular things I've made, and recently we even created a little company run by my wife just to show and market the handwrought metal flowers all together, called Amaranth & Rose Handwrought Flowers. We sell these flowers as gifts, for anniversaries, and memorials, and can also customize the colour or add a custom copper banner with a name or saying.

Trinity loved making these flowers, and she learned quickly. Now, even though she is only 16, our customers can't tell the difference between her work and mine. That's why we each put our unique maker's mark on any of the flowers we make. Trinity has also been able to put her artistic painting skills to work to make the flowers even more realistic. She made a series of handwrought iron sunflowers that are almost impossible to tell from real - until you pick one up and feel the metal.

These flowers are not only beautiful, they are ethical, because they don't require pesticides, and aren't shipped in from third world countries. In a mass-produced world, they are each unique, and handmade to last for life. They never wilt or fade. We offer a 200 year guarantee because we have personally seen a family heirloom rose made by a blacksmith 200 years ago that looks like it could have been made yesterday. I know every single flower we make will be treasured for a long time.

Now that I have been able to teach my daughter this art, I hope she too will one day pass on her knowledge to someone else, and keep the art and passion of metalworking by hand alive for generations to come.

More info: amaranthandrose.com