GRANNYSAGE AT THE CROSSROADS
  • Crossroads Home
    • Who Is Grannysage? >
      • Grannysage-the Crossroads Digest Version
      • Grannysage's Almanac >
        • Zen and the Art of Kitty Litter Raking
        • Dancing Our Way to Enlightenment
        • What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
        • Judges for the Ironbird Competition
        • Cave of Solitude
        • Is the Alice in Wonderland Rabbit Hole Really a Wormhole?
        • The Value of Giving and Receiving
      • How I Became a Hermit
  • Tower of Wisdom
    • The Alchemist's Workshop
    • Scrolls of Enlightenment >
      • Messages from Peace Pilgrim
      • Web of Connection Inspired by the movie Avatar
      • It Is What It Is
      • Looking With Different Eyes Chapt 1 >
        • What is ego - Chapt 2
        • What Is Reality - Chapt 3
        • Good and Evil - Chapt 4
        • Near-Death Experiences - Chapt 5
        • Our Soul's Plan - Chapt 6
    • Crossroads Chamber of Curiosities >
      • The Quest for the Yellow Diamond
      • The Mystery of Moundville Alabama
      • I Love Copper Harbor Michigan
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        • The Sleeper Must Awaken
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          • Following the Yellow Brick Road
          • More about Oz, Mr. Baum!
          • Interesting Tidbits from L Frank Baum’s Oz Books
          • L. Frank Baum's Last Five Oz Books
        • Dobby House Elf
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        • Wolf's Message
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        • Quotes from Zen Books
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        • Women Who Run With the Wolves - The World Needs More Storytellers
        • Thoreau on Productivity
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      • "Who Is Ritchie Blackmore?" I Asked
      • Omnia Pagan Folk Band
      • The Magical Synergy of Queen + Adam Lambert
    • The Metalsmith Guild >
      • Art of Copper Enameling
  • The Crone's Hut
    • Whispers of the Crone
    • Inside the Hut >
      • Gaia Earth Mother
      • The Crone's Book of Shadows >
        • Wiccan Sabbats >
          • The Witch Who Danced With Ghosts
          • Why Is the Autumnal Equinox Named Mabon?
          • The Real Story of the Wicked Witch of the West
          • Joulupukki and Tonttu – Finnish Santa and Elves
          • Ostara, the Sabbat with the Rabbit
          • What to Wear to the Beltaine Maypole Dance
        • What So Mote It Be Means
  • Notes From the Crossroads
  • Crossroads Home
    • Who Is Grannysage? >
      • Grannysage-the Crossroads Digest Version
      • Grannysage's Almanac >
        • Zen and the Art of Kitty Litter Raking
        • Dancing Our Way to Enlightenment
        • What Is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
        • Judges for the Ironbird Competition
        • Cave of Solitude
        • Is the Alice in Wonderland Rabbit Hole Really a Wormhole?
        • The Value of Giving and Receiving
      • How I Became a Hermit
  • Tower of Wisdom
    • The Alchemist's Workshop
    • Scrolls of Enlightenment >
      • Messages from Peace Pilgrim
      • Web of Connection Inspired by the movie Avatar
      • It Is What It Is
      • Looking With Different Eyes Chapt 1 >
        • What is ego - Chapt 2
        • What Is Reality - Chapt 3
        • Good and Evil - Chapt 4
        • Near-Death Experiences - Chapt 5
        • Our Soul's Plan - Chapt 6
    • Crossroads Chamber of Curiosities >
      • The Quest for the Yellow Diamond
      • The Mystery of Moundville Alabama
      • I Love Copper Harbor Michigan
    • The Library >
      • Captivating Critters >
        • Coast to Coast with a Cat and a Ghost
      • Science Fiction Books >
        • The Sleeper Must Awaken
      • Fantasy >
        • Books By L Frank Baum >
          • Following the Yellow Brick Road
          • More about Oz, Mr. Baum!
          • Interesting Tidbits from L Frank Baum’s Oz Books
          • L. Frank Baum's Last Five Oz Books
        • Dobby House Elf
      • Mystery >
        • Delta Crossroads
        • Murder in the Goblins' PLayground
      • Paranormal >
        • Wolf's Message
        • Tales of Love and Dying
        • Paranormal Thriller Threshold
      • Spiritual >
        • Quotes from Zen Books
      • Nonfiction >
        • Women Who Run With the Wolves - The World Needs More Storytellers
        • Thoreau on Productivity
  • Sage Hollow
    • The Clockmaker's Shop
    • Sage Blossom Inn >
      • Breads
      • Soup
      • Beverages -Alcoholic
      • Cheeses
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Desserts
    • Minstrel Hall >
      • Robert Johnson and the Legend of the Crossroads
      • "Who Is Ritchie Blackmore?" I Asked
      • Omnia Pagan Folk Band
      • The Magical Synergy of Queen + Adam Lambert
    • The Metalsmith Guild >
      • Art of Copper Enameling
  • The Crone's Hut
    • Whispers of the Crone
    • Inside the Hut >
      • Gaia Earth Mother
      • The Crone's Book of Shadows >
        • Wiccan Sabbats >
          • The Witch Who Danced With Ghosts
          • Why Is the Autumnal Equinox Named Mabon?
          • The Real Story of the Wicked Witch of the West
          • Joulupukki and Tonttu – Finnish Santa and Elves
          • Ostara, the Sabbat with the Rabbit
          • What to Wear to the Beltaine Maypole Dance
        • What So Mote It Be Means
  • Notes From the Crossroads
GRANNYSAGE AT THE CROSSROADS

The Metalsmith Guild

PictureImage depicts a goldsmith workshop in 1641 and is in the public domain.
In the middle ages, groups of merchants or craftsmen would join together with others with the same job skills. These organizations were known as guilds. Belonging to a craft guild provided status to the member. After working many years, first as an apprentice, then as a journeyman, an aspiring craftsman had to produce a masterpiece that met the high standards of the guild before he could be admitted to the guild and be allowed to call himself a Master Craftsmen.

Guilds had strict rules regarding quality of the work produced and the prices one could charge. Today this would be called a monopoly. No one could practice a particular craft unless they were a member of the appropriate guild.

For a more complete description of the role guilds played in medieval culture, I encourage you to visit the Iowa State University page called Medieval Guild.


Charles Koivu, a True Master Craftsman

PictureMy parent's agate shop in Copper Harbor. The coppersmith's shop was on the right and set back in the trees.
Charles Koivu was a coppersmith who had a shop next to my parents' agate shop in Copper Harbor, Michigan. For a long time I thought his name was "The Coppersmith." I loved to visit him and help him feed the chipmunks at the back door. He used to shoot a bow and arrow, and I would run to fetch the arrows for him. Later my dad bought me my own set. On the days he sold a hundred dollars or more of copper pieces, he would come into our shop and buy an Eskimo Pie to celebrate.

Koivu was a true artisan. He created beautiful, handmade copper bowls, cups, and trays by hammering the copper with different sizes of hammers he designed himself. His Finnish ancestors were also coppersmiths, going back at least four generations.

Here is an interesting newspaper article written about him in 1961.
Charles Koivu, Coppersmith






At some point my dad, Eino Miller,  also decided to work with copper. He liked to add etchings to some of the bigger pieces. This is a sample of the collection he had.
Picture
Eino Miller's copper pieces.


Hammered Copper Pieces Make a Great Gift

Moscow Mule MugsMoscow Mule MugsHammered Edge Copper Circular Serving TrayHammered Edge Copper Circular Serving TrayHammered Copper PitcherHammered Copper Pitcher

 

The Art of Copper Enameling
Copper Enameling is both an art and a craft. I learned it from my mother and have passed it on the my youngest daughter. Follow the link to learn more about this unique and fascinating art form.


Background image courtesy of GRSites.com.
© Diane Wallace  All Rights Reserved

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