Ken Roby
After graduating from Hawken School, attending Montana State University’s Farrier Science program and completing his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, Ken established himself as a professional farrier. As his interest in ironwork grew, Ken retired from a fifteen-year career shoeing horses to concentrate on the art of blacksmithing in the early 1990’s.
Ken is largely self-taught but has also attended numerous conferences, workshops and classes over the years. He is a member of several blacksmithing organizations and has presented workshops and clinics in his shop for aspiring blacksmiths as well as forging workshops in conjunction with organizations such as the Sculpture Center of Cleveland, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Touchstone Center for Crafts.
Ken’s parents, sculptor / potter George Roby and painter / illustrator Sue Roby, were certainly not without their influence in Ken’s creative experience and have provided much labor, assistance, and support as Ken’s work has developed over the years.
Ken has a wide variety of interests which he feels significantly impact his way of looking at things and, ultimately, his work.
He was a volunteer firefighter and corporate officer with the Chagrin Falls Fire Department for 16 years before retiring in 1996. Ken volunteered for 9 years at Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center working with a variety of disabled children and adults, helping to teach horsemanship and riding skills. He has played fiddle since 4th grade, and often plays fiddle, banjo & mandolin throughout the area with the old time string band, “Mr. Haney”.
When there is “free time” Ken likes to tinker in the shop, play tunes, and help his wife Nancy around their homestead, “Wildweed Farm“.
Steven Sladek
Steven Sladek grew up in and around Chagrin Falls Ohio. He started working in the trades at the age of 12 with his grandfather learning carpentry and home remodeling. With a background in auto body work and fine woodworking, Steven went on to study film and fine art photography at Lakeland Community College after which he attended the Lincoln Electric Welding Technology and Training Center, where he was certified in TIG welding.
While working as a TIG welder in the high-performance automotive world, Steven became interested in working more artistically with metal and decided to pursue the craft of blacksmithing to better his understanding of how to manipulate the material.
After a solo trip around the country, Steven found himself back in Ohio where he started working full time at Village Blacksmith in 2016.
Steven is now a seasoned professional blacksmith who is on the lifelong journey of mastering his craft.
Steven comes from a family of artists. His other interests include fiber arts and music, and he plays and sings in a duo act with his sister Joan.
Shannon Mallory
Shannon Mallory has been with Village Blacksmith long enough to know better, more than two decades. Her particular interests in the job are the beginning and the end – creating pieces in the forge, and doing the finish work that makes your piece look like a magazine photo. Her specialty is in creating elements of the natural world. If a hummingbird or butterfly investigates your railing’s floral element, she is satisfied. When not working at the shop or her home forge, you can find her reading, creating art pieces in other media, being involved with her community and local high school theatres, or playing her harp.
David Campbell
David Campbell has been forging since 2010 when he began an apprenticeship with David Burriss of the Calerin Forge. In 2016, David enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving until 2020 when he entered the America College of the Building Arts in Charleston NC. In 2024, David graduated with a degree in Architectural Ironwork and joined the Village Blacksmith team.
David specializes in traditional forging techniques and joinery. He is well versed in a wide variety of artistic styles and tends to favor Colonial and Art Nouveau. His passion to teach and train the next generation of smiths reflects his goal to run his own business and demonstrate how hard work, dedication, and perseverance can make your dreams a reality.
“Life is so short, and the craft so long to learn.” – Hippocrates