Coach House Forge Ltd. is a first generation family-run Blacksmiths based in Nantwich, Cheshire run by husband and wife team Chris and Amy Danby and is celebrating 10 years in business.
Started by Chris, the forge creates and crafts heirloom quality objects from understated but elegant rustic hammered dishes, to large show stopping modern centrepiece bowls, as well as the obligatory fire poker of course!
This country forge is more than you’d expect, tucked away in the glorious Cheshire countryside with the hammering sounds of the three blacksmiths (Chris, Adrian, and Richard). They are a creative force with their collective knowledge of a broad range of crafts, honed together on the anvil that result in some impressive and original pieces.
As a modern online business, this gift company has already set some major milestones in its first ten years; becoming a global leader in hand forged metal giftware, their unique selling point is that customers can add their own personal touch to almost any product by requesting a hand-stamped message. Customers usually have initials, names, or significant date, place, or co-ordinates of a special place, resulting in a piece of personal history in the palms of their hands made by a real blacksmith.
Chris, like so many crafting legends, is self-taught. In 2014, Chris fell in love with Blacksmithing after enrolling on a blacksmith ‘experience day’ and went to the bottom of his garden in every spare moment, he had to practise the art of forging iron. Within the first five years Chris started selling his experimental pieces online and soon became so busy with custom orders he gave notice on his job as an environmental officer. The sales continued to grow, and by 2018, Coach House Forge became a limited company, just FOUR years after Chris first stepped foot in a working forge!
Not only were his novel designs loved by customers, Chris’ creations were also noticed by other Blacksmiths and led to one of his designs (iron bowl with copper buttons) being featured in a book: ‘The Everyday Blacksmith’ (2019).
When the pandemic lockdown hit in 2020, wife Amy had to stay at home with their three young boys leaving Chris and Jo (a local crafter who’d joined them, part-time, nine months earlier) to run the business. Chris and Jo were easily doing 10-hour days as online sales boomed! Jo very soon slipped into managerial roles, fortunately, having had their own experience of online retail and customer service. Even so, Chris still needed help in the forge and was working so many hours to keep up with demand.
Luckily, a business mentor and friend knew of a furniture restorer looking for work; Adrian had always worked with his hands and started working at the forge in late 2020 and took to the anvil like a duck to water! It would be another two years before Richard joined the forge in 2022 (who has an actual blacksmith qualification!), completing a very talented trio.
Chris said…
“As we celebrate Coach House Forge’s 10th anniversary, I am filled with immense pride. Over the past decade, our journey has been defined by craftsmanship, dedication and the unwavering support of our customers and talented team. It’s been an honor to see our forge grow from a small workshop into a thriving business that upholds the traditions of quality and artistry in metalwork. Thank you for being a part of our story. Here’s to many more years of creativity and success.”
The skies the limit for the future of Coach House Forge Ltd! The team continues to build on their reputation of delivering high quality, unique, personalised hand-forged products to a global customer base, both direct to customer and business to business!
With attention to detail and dedication to great customer service, Coach House Forge offers the best quality metal gifts for any occasion.
We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years bring for Coach House Forge.