In honor of the holiday season, a metal wire Christmas tree rests above the door at 231 W. 8th St. Inside, one can find open fires, but instead of roasting chestnuts, they are forging metal. The business is Earthen Iron, a local blacksmith and metalsmith. Since 2000, the shop has been doing custom metal work right in downtown.

For some time, owner Dave Richer had been doing metal work in the evenings after work. He worked a full-time job manufacturing agriculture equipment, but managed to find time for his passion, which would eventually materialize into Earthen Iron.

The shop makes a broad range of products. From handles, latches and locks; to gates, railings, and fences; to furniture, tables and chairs, Earthen Iron is prepared to make any product, from any metal. Every day is different. Projects range greatly in physical size and they call for every metal that you have and have not heard of.

Aside from high school and Butte College welding classes under his belt, Richer is a self-taught blacksmith. He is a self-taught fabricator, which led to an affinity for ornamental blacksmithing and metalsmithing, which he described as his “bread and butter.” He has kept up practice on the art his whole life, and it is paying off with the skill and proficiency that comes only with time and experience.

Involved in the blacksmith and metalsmith community, Richer is a member of the California Blacksmith Association. As Richer described, the organization is about education of the craft, mutual improvement in technique and tooling and keeping the craft alive.

Throughout the shop there is a menagerie of tools of various shapes that serve various purposes. Some are recognizable, some are not at all. A considerable portion of the collection is made up of tools that Richer and his employees made themselves in the shop. Different projects require different details, and the task often calls for a completely unique tool.

As every order that goes through Earthen Iron is custom, nothing is made in bulk.

“Every day is different because we’re always producing something different,” Richer said.

Richer has found a niche in the business, as most demand for metal products is for cookie cutter, interchangeable parts manufactured by modern machinery. When he so chooses, Richer prefers some comparatively archaic technologies, such as a coal forge or the standard hammer and anvil. These very human methods of fabrication are part of what makes Earthen Iron products unique every time.

The orders come from a good span of the West Coast. Earthen Iron has done business as far north as Coos Bay, Oregon, and as far south as the greater San Jose area. But of course, much of his business done is with Chico locals. Countless railings, signs and ornamental fixtures commonly seen around town are the handy work of Earthen Iron. Many local artists and businesses come to Richer for signs and help on projects.

Earthen Iron is a likeable exhibition of an old craft alive and well, and being done not by machines in a factory, but by passionate workers and their hands. The business will continue to make its mark on Chico, decorating it with its talent and craftsmanship.

Nathan Graves can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.