A gifted child and scholar, Ben started making things in metal aged 11. One of his earlier treasures sat on his headmaster's desk until he moved school. At the age of 14 he knew he wanted to be a blacksmith and despite his academic ability, was steadfast in his pursuit of his career as a blacksmith. He trained at the world renowned Rural Crafts Centre in Hereford.

He has a deep love of this rural craft and despite his young age (born 1987) has amassed a wealth of experience. He is passionate about keeping the skills alive and disapproves of the new "fabricator" arguing that they merely cut, weld and use machines to bend the metal but mostly buy in mass-produced products that they weld into place. Worst still are the imports - often using child labour! Many blacksmiths share the opinion that fabricators have undermined the craft of the blacksmith - there are fewer and fewer people prepared to pay more for a real piece of craftsmanship!

Ben is at the forefront of organising competitions and is heavily involved at the "South of England Show" with the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths. This weekend he is attending a meeting about the International Blacksmithing Extravaganza for 2014.

He recently moved to a much bigger workshop in the heart of East Sussex and is setting up a school and the space for other trainee blacksmiths to rent out a forge etc for a modest daily rental. He is determined to help others learn and practice the skills the traditional or artistic blacksmith needs.

Along with all this, he continues to build his business and seek commissions or simple jobs that give customers pleasure - every curtain pole he makes is rewarding in this way.

A designer who worked with him on a major project came up with the idea of the anvil with a heart and "for the love of it". This too is a testament to how Ben is perceived by those that work with him or are involved in the blacksmithing fraternity.

His website www.bentheblacksmith.co.uk is in need of updating hence the need to show more examples of his work here.