"If it ain't broke, break it - to see what is inside" could be the motto of Bob Bogner, sometime electrical and electronic engineer, engineering educator and researcher and now professor emeritus. Working in Melbourne, Brisbane, London, New Jersey and Great Malvern (Worcestershire), Adelaide, and India, he has always enjoyed making things as well as breaking, and used to joke "In the olden days I would have been a blacksmith". When he retired in 2001 his partner, Rae Kennedy, called his bluff and gave him a forge. Thinking he should show some enthusiasm he built a smithy and tried his hand. The interest caught fire, revealing his true calling. Rae is his aesthetic adviser and essential guide.

In their international search for enlightenment they have enjoyed visiting blacksmiths in London, Tashkent, Bokara, Italy, Russia, USA and Tibet as well as many in Australia. Bob has exhibited (a small item) in the Art Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) 2006 conference in Seattle and exhibited with several other artists in Adelaide in 2010. Bob is a member of ABANA, a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Life Member of the Indian Science Congress Association.

Most products are made on commission, and tasks or clients that call for development or exploration of novel methods or tools are especially welcome. We forge objects commonly described as “wrought iron”: decorative and functional items for house and garden - balustrades, screens, stands, ornaments, table bases, brackets, hooks, hinges, door furniture, fire irons, etc.

We find that many people prefer a commissioned item made to one's own ideas over a mass produced one from a factory. Many find pleasure in an object uniquely designed and hand made, knowing the artisan personally, and in supporting local work.

Fascinations beyond technology include science, psychology, philosophy and public speaking.