FABA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Camp 2019

October 20-22, Gainesville, Florida

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Florida's Largest Annual Blacksmithing Event

Iron Smiths. Legendary Steel.

Overview

  • Dates:

    October 20-2, 2023

  • Venue:

    Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel and Conference Center 4200 NW 97th Blvd | Gainesville, FL 32606

  • Hotel:

    Hotel Rates: Will be announced at a later date.

Registration

  • What you Get

    We have over 20 classes for all skill levels, as well as a variety of demonstrators, seminars, and heritage events. Come out and join us for a fun weekend!

  • Two Ways to Purchase

    If you're unable to buy online for whatever reason, tickets will be available at the "door" for the conference. Keep in mind, classes are first come first serve.

  • Questions?

    If you're experiencing issues with registration please contact our Webmaster at: [email protected]

Register Now

All prices are per attendee.

View the schedule

All prices are per attendee.

FABA Charity Scrap Bucket Challenge

At the registration tent we will have a bucket of random steel pieces cut into one pound segments. Some will be round, some flat, some bars, some … well, you name it. When you contribute $12-20 to the charity challenge, you will be allowed to go through the bucket and pick your one pound piece of steel. Then it’s over to the open forges to get creative. By the way, there may be only one of any particular shape, so you will want to get in early on this challenge to get the best choice from the scrap bucket.

Finished pieces will be displayed in the lobby of the Best Western Gateway Grand. You have until noon on Sunday to get your submission in to be judged by the hotel staff. Judge’s decision at 12 o’clock Sunday will determine our winner. The winner gets to designate a charity of their choice that the proceeds will go to.

It up to you and your imagination to create something to win big for your favorite charity.

Item Exchange: Catcher of Light

The exchange is open to any member and skill level.  Each smith creates a piece based on their interpretation of the theme and brings it to the conference.  On Saturday afternoon before the auction, each person who brought an item will draw the name of another.  The name that you draw is the person’s piece that you take home.  It might be from a beginner or one of our seasoned smiths, you just never know.  “Catcher of Light” is this year’s theme and open to your interpretation!  Plan ahead and bring an item to exchange.

Gallery

The gallery is a wonderful way to showcase your pieces.  These can be pieces that were completed at any time.  Perhaps you have a blade, art piece, home item, or other that you want to share with FABA members.  Bring one or more items to the gallery to share!  Items are judged by attendees and awarded prize money for People’s Choice.  If possible, please pre-register your gallery pieces.  If you are interested in participating in the Gallery Walk seminar please call, text, or email Erin Harlow at 904-716-9196 or [email protected]com.  Speakers are asked to share their creative process and techniques and answer questions about their piece during the designated time.

Iron in the Hat

Have scraps or interesting items laying around your shop?  Bring them to the conference for Iron in the Hat.  Tickets will be sold for items to be raffled on Saturday, Nov 5th from noon to 1 pm.  Bring a 24-case of bottled water for 3 free tickets.  Limit 3 cases per individual.

Auction

The silent and live auction is back!  Proceeds from the auction not only support the conference, but also FABA throughout the year.  To be successful, we need auction items!  If you have an item you plan to bring, please let us know.  When you drop off the auction item, we will need to know what the item is and what it is made from, who donated or made it, and the estimated value.   You can do this before the conference as well.  The live and silent auction will take place on Saturday evening, November 5th immediately following the annual banquet.  You do not need a ticket to attend the auction.

Chairman's Challenge: Florida, Forest & Fauna

We are asking each district or sub-district to create a piece as a team.  This can be as large or small as you would like. A panel of outside judges will judge the pieces based on the criteria below. Awards will be handed out at the banquet. Please consider donating your items to the auction.  We hope to see submissions from each part of the state!  This is a great project to work on at a monthly meeting.

  • Rules for team creature challenge:
  • Piece must be created by 3 or more team members
  • Piece should be created between November 1, 2022-October 15, 2023
  • Must include at least one forging technique
  • Regions and sub-regions can submit more than one entry as long as they meet the other requirements
  • Must be submitted at the FABA Conference gallery & auction area before noon on October 21st.

Judging Criteria

  • A team must comprise of at least 3 members and more points are awarded for more artists
  • Artistic interpretation of the theme
  • Materials and techniques utilized

Meet the Demonstrators!

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Roy Adams

For this year's conference, Roy Adams of Christ Centered Ironworks will be demonstrating the forging of an ornamental French baroque wall hook. The hook will feature traditional joinery such as forge welding & collaring with multi-bar scrolls and leaf work. The primary focus for the conference will be the computational forging process (ie: how to achieve more complex forgings and dynamic work) with plenty of discussion, stories, & humor along the way.

FABA Group Project – The Forging Tree | Sunday 8 am – 12 pm

Calling all FABA members! Stop by the group project to make a leaf to add to our FABA tree. This will be a multi-year project. This year each member is asked to stop by and forge a leaf. We will have blanks for beginners and material for more experienced smiths. Bring your touchmark to personalize it.

Pete Braspenninix

Pete Braspenninx, owner of Phyre Forge, is a graduate of the University of Michigan school of art and design
(2004). He is an artist, blacksmith, and educator.  His work has been shown, collected, and published nationally and internationally.  His work focuses primarily on building shape & line through visual connections & joinery using traditional skills to make modern forms.