Our Team
Meet our superb and highly-skilled team behind the sparks
Max Anderson, BA - Blacksmith/Tutor
Max trained at Hereford College of Arts, and was awarded a BA (Hons) in Artist Blacksmithing.
After graduating from Hereford, Max embarked on a journeymanship, initially working for Ambrose Burne and then moving to Canada for 6 years to work for Mark Pearce at Mystic Forge Ironworks.
Now back in the UK, Max has been establishing his own business in Shropshire, mainly focusing on architectural work, but also creating interesting furniture and interior/exterior sculpture.
“I have always loved design and working with my hands. Blacksmithing allows me to explore and combine the two. I love teaching - it allows me to share the knowledge I have acquired and investigate my own creative practice and approach to the work.”
Max has been working with the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing since 2018. Max travels down from Hereford to teach on all of our group courses. He is a highly skilled blacksmith, who has a friendly, relaxed and very informative teaching style. He makes things look deceptively easy!
Giles Clarke, ba- Blacksmith/Tutor
Giles is a skilled artist-blacksmith specialising in hot forged ironwork. He uses his tacit knowledge of materials and the fundamental processes within forging to experiment with design. Giles specialises in creating contemporary furniture, sculptures and metalwork for both internal and external settings.
Before becoming a blacksmith Giles worked with a variety of clients, in the building and landscape gardening sector. However; he decided his passion for creating, designing and making had to go further. This led him to the artist blacksmithing degree course at Hereford College of Arts, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in Artist Blacksmithing.
Giles has since gone on to set up his own forge in the heart of Sussex.
Giles has been teaching on our courses since 2019 and also works part-time with the team at Fire & Iron on commissioned projects and items on sale in the gallery, since 2018.
Giles is a superb teacher and is excellent at simply explaining how to do things, whilst ensuring that you actually do it yourself. He is encouraging, friendly and thoroughly enjoys teaching.
Tom Quinnell - Director & Blacksmith/Tutor
Tom grew up at Rowhurst Forge and learned the craft of blacksmithing from a very young age. Born into a ‘blacksmith family’, and with the business on the same site as where he grew up, He was Immersed in ‘everything blacksmithing’, attending regular blacksmithing events and Conferences all over the country, from the age of 4.
After finishing his A-Levels, Tom completed a 4-year advanced Apprenticeship with Mercedes-Benz in mechanical Engineering and then progressed to management roles including Aftersales Manger, Service manager and Service Team manager. Following on from his successful 16-year career with Mercedes-Benz, Tom retuned to join the family business, Fire & Iron Ltd in 2019 as the General manager & blacksmith - he is the 4th generation to work at Rowhurst Forge.
In 2021 Tom also took on the running of Richard Quinnell Limited from his grandfather, alongside his mother Lucy, and in Spring 2022 he took over the running of The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing, managing and overseeing all its Operations.
in late 2022, Tom set up ‘the Young Quinnell School of Blacksmithing’, offering short blacksmithing sessions for children as well as therapeutic learning and regular Educational blacksmithing sessions for children and young people with ASD or SEND. He has worked very closely with QSB’s insurers in recent years and is now fully Insured to offer Educational and therapeutic sessions to children as young as 5. In 2025 he mobilised our children’s roadshow programme - a comprehensive, mobile, 4-workstation set-up that travels nationally offering short blacksmithing sessions to children between the ages of 5 and 16.
He TEACHES ON THE MAJORITY OF THE PRIVATE/BESPOKE 1-2-1 BLACKSMITHING SESSIONS AND our private 1-2-1 Therapeutic leaning sessions for young people.
Tom manages the workshop of Fire & Iron Ltd, and as a skilled blacksmith and designer, he works to commission on all of Fire & Iron’s creative & practical blacksmithing projects & public artworks, and is also currently exhibiting a wide selection of work at Fire & Iron Gallery.
Richard Quinnell, MBE, CWCB- ‘The Fountain of Knowledge’
Dick Quinnell ran the family architectural metalworking and blacksmithing firm Richard Quinnell Ltd at Rowhurst Forge for over 50 years from the early 1960s, designing, surveying, supervising and installing countless important pieces of metalwork all over the world, including many large public art commissions.
In 1975 he was principal guest demonstrator and lecturer at an early Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America (ABANA) conference, and in 1976 returned with his wife Jinny Quinnell to attend the inspirational ABANA conference and exhibition, Iron Solid Wrought/USA, at Carbondale, IL, often called the ‘Woodstock of Blacksmithing’. As a direct result of this experience, Jinny and Dick set up the event in 1978 at Rowhurst Forge, that proved to be the foundation meeting of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association, ‘BABA’. In the same year Dick was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship, and visited 25 blacksmithing masters in their workshops on a 3000 mile tour through 5 European countries. Together Jinny and Dick also founded Fire and Iron Gallery in 1982.
Sadly, Jinny died of cancer in 1988.
In 1989 Dick was awarded the MBE for services to blacksmithing, in 1993 Dick married Pauline, and in 1996 they founded the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing. Dick has since retired from running the Quinnell School of Blacksmithing, but is still thoroughly involved and often present on course days. He is also a companion of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths for services to british and international blacksmithing.
Ben Pusey, BA - Blacksmith/Tutor
Ben Pusey trained at Hereford College of Arts where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in Artist Blacksmithing.
Since graduating, Ben has Predominately worked in steel fabrication and welding roles, until joining the Fire & Iron team in early 2024.
Ben is a tutor on some of our blacksmithing courses and is the lead tutor for ‘hammer Time’ our regular blacksmithing club. He also teaches children, aged 5-16, on our children’s courses and on our Young Quinnell School of Blacksmithing Roadshow programme, dedicating his own time helping load the dedicated trailer and set up the events. In 2025 he helped teach over 40 children and teenagers blacksmithing at a three day event, in partnership with the British Artist Blacksmiths association (BABA).
He also works full-time in the Fire & Iron workshops, working with tom Quinnell on all commissioned projects, as well as producing a wide range of high-quality work exhibited a Fire & Iron Gallery.
Lucy Quinnell, CWCB - Managing Director
Lucy Quinnell has worked full-time for over three decades in the field of blacksmithing, after studying at Epsom School of Art & Design and Exeter University.
She is an award-winning artist, designer, writer, lecturer, consultant and curator, and from 2012-2020 she was the Editor of 'Artist Blacksmith' magazine for the British Artist Blacksmiths Association.
Lucy owns and runs Fire & Iron Gallery & Richard Quinnell Limited/The Quinnell School of Blacksmithing. She has curated hundreds of special metalwork exhibitions; has completed numerous major public and private art commissions of her own; and has acted as an agent and project manager for commissioned artworks by others.
Lucy is a companion of the Worshipful company of blacksmiths of the City of London for services to british blacksmithing.
She has a special interest in surface finish of metals, and also in accessibility and inclusivity.