Our Story

About Rory May and Dirty Smith ®

Having grown up surrounded with forges, anvils and hot iron from the age of 8, as a third generation blacksmith, Rory's career developed for over 20 years in Colorado at the Family Business. Starting at the bottom of the employment ladder to eventually shop foreman of a fabrication/forge studio, working along side and managing a crew to produce custom-ironwork, to leading the marketing/branding of the business; the daily challenges of the studio provided a fullfilling experience that was more than a full-time job. During this time Rory also completed college degree and attended Blacksmithing events, blacksmithing courses and volunteered his skills to communities local and abroad.

In 2020 Rory left the family business and persue his own adventures as the Dirty Smith®. Using his skills, experience and education in Media Arts that range from: Art, Photography, Digital Art/Design, and his hands-on experience in: Blacksmithing, Fabrication, Custom-Ironwork, Installations of metal designs, and the creative problem solving that comes with these; Dirty Smith® is creating custom one-of-a-kind metal designs, teaching and entertainment...he has been busy. Below a highlight list of his journey thus far.

Rory has a range of experience of participating in community events from:

Volunteering his marketing/logo design skills towards a small town art gallery in Bailey, Colorado
Participating in art shows in Denver, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Interviewed by Denver News Stations about the craft of blacksmithing
Forging demonstrations and lectures for public education schools
Public blacksmithing workshops/demonstrations
Volunteering as a board member for the Rocky Mountain Smiths & Newsletter Editor

Organizing/leading events across the United States ranging from:

Teaching 2-3 day Blacksmithing Workshops in Colorado, Rochester, NY and upstate New York,
Demonstrating a 2 day event at New England Blacksmith Association Conference in Vermont,
Leading a 3 day project build with a team of Blacksmiths in Virginia.

In 2015 Mike Rowe, host of CNN's TV Show Dirty Jobs, came produce an episode of "Somebody's Gotta Do It." Rory was given the task to design a "SGDI Sign" for the show and work on the project that day. Read an interview with Rory at: The Summit Daily

2019 Rory was invited to demonstrate a 3 day event forging iron at the

Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he produced a

Fire Tool Set that was donated to the auction at the event.

You can also see Rory's Linkedin For Further Interest

2024

Dirty Smith® has blossomed beyond its humble beginnings has returned to its roots in Colorado. While steadfast in its commitment to its founding principles, Dirty Smith now extends its reach by providing online consultations to fellow blacksmiths seeking guidance in their craft. Meanwhile, Rory has amplified his forge's presence, catering to the front range of Colorado with an expanded array of services.

With the technology and digital tools available these allow Rory and Dirty Smith ® to be more readily available. You can access this community here at the

Dirty Smith ® Crew

Rory May

President / Designer / Blacksmith

Miss Emmy

Safety Inspector

Miss Molly

Marketing Director

Our story:

Strike while the iron is hot!

About The Dirty Smith®

DirtySmith® is a blacksmith offering a range of design, forge and fabrication services to produce custom products, metal designs, as well as offers consultation to other metalworkers/blacksmiths alike looking for advice and feedback on blacksmithing and metalworking related topics.

OUR APPROACH

Taking your concepts and inspiration, Rory uses his experience in building and design, draws inspiration from the early American “Arts and Crafts” philosophy and interpretation of the craftsman style to modern ironwork.

Custom Projects

An example of previous projects, but not limited to:

Custom Designed Fireplace tools,

FIreplace doors, Fireplace screens Custom

hardware pulls

Custom Mirrors Security window/door grills

Forged decorative iron elements for wine cellars

Kitchen Range Hoods

Custom Forged Steel Balusters for your railings

The Unspoken Philosophy of "Grit"

I was asked by a contractor about the name "Dirty Smith" and we had a discussion about work, iron, custom projects, the hours and dedication is takes. He replied " I like your Grit. The name is appropriate and he took my bussiness card." Some thoughts about Grit.

“Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.” -John Ortberg

"As psychologists have emphasized, achieving difficult, long-term goals requires the capacity for perseverance, or “grit.” We argue that grit is distinct from familiar philosophical notions like willpower and continence. Specifically, grit has an important epistemic dimension: quitting is often caused by a loss of confidence that continued effort will result in success. Correspondingly, successful exercises of grit often involve “epistemic resilience” in the face of setbacks suggesting that success is not forthcoming.-ASJC Scopus

Strike while the iron is hot!