WILL MANNING - BLADESMITH

“My mom gardens. She likes feeling the earth on her fingers. She’s as resourceful as they come & has a great respect for her natural surroundings. My dad crafted Windsor chairs for our dining room & raised me on his reverence for the timeless quality of the hand tools he used. Growing up in their house, I remember the rich smell of onions simmering in butter on Sundays that mixed with the humid piney North Florida air creeping like vines through the windows of my youth.

Years later, after my interest in forging transcended hobby, education and profession, I met a woman who brought me home to her love of food & this is when the knives happened. Together, we found joy in connecting with the origins of our food. As the idea that a meal actually starts in the soil sank in, I started bringing my work from the shop to the kitchen every week.

Tallahassee, FL. Athens, GA. And then… January 2018, we relocated to beautiful East Tennessee for my wife’s job, starting and running a food business incubator where she helps dreamers see their vision through to reality. We are situated in Jonesborough, miles from the Appalachian trail, where our dogs Jack & Murphy keep us company.

Always remembering Lizzie (RIP 8/11/20) & Daisy (RIP 8/29/20).”