The 36-year old blacksmith recently transitioned from his job as a jeweler to pursue a new opportunity as a blacksmith full-time.

Idema is probably best known for his work on a bicycle sculpture he created for Thunder Bay Arts Council Inc. in 2018, which is located at the east end of Washington Park. He is now working on a second sculpture for the Arts Council — “the River Intertwined” — which will be placed at the west end of the park.

His journey to becoming a blacksmith first started with his dad, Robert Idema, who previously worked as a jeweler with Bolenz Jewelry. Jacob said he, too, worked at Bolenz, doing jewelry repair part-time while he attended college.

When Robert moved downstate, Jacob began working at Bolenz full-time. Jacob was exposed to blacksmithing, which had become his dad’s new hobby, while visiting him downstate.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Blacksmith Jacob Moss Idema demonstrates how iron would be hammered so it could be molded into a shape.

“We would do weekend projects, just quick projects when I had the time to visit him downstate,” he said. “We’d go out and work on something together. We work really well together — kind of share a similar mental process — so we anticipate each other’s moves in the forge area.”

While Jacob no longer works for the jewelry store, he still does contract work for them from his studio in Alpena. He said it wasn’t until the coronavirus pandemic, when he was staying home from work, that he realized he could pursue a career as a blacksmith.

“I was always worried about quitting my day job and taking a risk, but having the time off made it seem less scary — kind of a trial run for what it would be like to work on my own,” he said. “I feel like there is a very large untapped demand. I have been keeping completely busy.”

Most of his business has been through word of mouth, but Jacob believes that, once he gets established, he will be able to serve the area well, whether people need more artistic, sculptural pieces or more practical, hardware-type things for their home.

Jacob works out of a forge located in Lincoln, where he uses propane to heat the metal he uses for his projects. He has also collected a number of tools and machines that he uses in his forge from garage sales or by word of mouth.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Blacksmith Jacob Moss Idema is pictured earlier this month in his forge in Lincoln.

In addition to creating more sculptural pieces, Jacob likes to focus on making functional, beautiful, and high-quality pieces, such as key racks, paper towel holders, and door pulls.

He is currently working on bike racks for Alpena’s Downtown Development Authority and collaborating with Tim Allen of Chippewa Valley Mercantile and Leather Works, where he forges belt buckles for belts made by Allen. Jacob said they are also collaborating on some canvas and leather bags.

Jacob said he is excited about working on the bike racks because Alpena is lacking in decorative iron work when compared to other towns. He said a lot could be done for downtown in decorative ironwork and he’s thankful the DDA is trying to build up downtown in a unique way.

“It’s easy enough to go in a catalogue and order up some bike racks, but to hire someone such as myself that is local with talents that are kind of uncommon in this day and age is a step in the right direction.”

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena resident Jacob Moss Idema, a blacksmith, works with iron at his forge in Lincoln.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson A closeup of some of the tools blacksmith Jacob Moss Idema uses in his forge in Lincoln.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Alpena resident Jacob Moss Idema, a blacksmith, works with iron at his forge in Lincoln.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Blacksmith Jacob Moss Idema holds a piece of wrought iron at his forge in Lincoln.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson Blacksmith Jacob Moss Idema uses a saw to cut through some iron at his forge in Lincoln.