Megan Wyatt

mbwyatt@theadvertiser.com

Sam Riehl is an old soul in a young man's body.

He spends his days not at a computer but in a smoke-filled shop. He spends his time not texting on his smartphone but pounding out shapes from steel.

Riehl, 18, is the youngest member of the Louisiana Metalsmiths Association, and he sees a world where beauty and function intersect and complement each other.

"I think a lot of things in our world today — they just work," Riehl says. "Nobody really takes pride or cares about anything anymore. If you look at street poles back in the 1800s or the street poles in New Orleans still, they're gorgeous. And then you look at the street poles we have now, and they're just tall metal cylinders."

Riehl spent Monday finishing 22 miniature steel chairs with tall legs, a set of award trophies he designed and forged for a local arts organization.

Before he began his fourth day of work on the awards, however, he fired up his forge with a warmup piece: a tiny leaf key chain.

"Many blacksmiths use a chisel to define the lines in a leaf," Riehl says as he works. "But if you think about a real leaf, the veins don't push in. They push out. People are like, 'Oh, look, a pretty leaf.' But it's not really true to the shape of the leaf and how it looks in nature."

Riehl instead hammers the orange-hot steel and allows lines and grooves to develop around the pieces he is shaping with the hammer.

"It makes all the difference when you're forging a leaf," Riehl says. "It doesn't look like much at the beginning, and all of a sudden it will show up at the end."

Riehl first became interested in metalwork while attending former Lafayette festival Pyromania at Girard Park. His mother fires jewelry and had her own booth set up at the festival, but 7-year-old Riehl gravitated to "those old guys" who shaped fiery steel into tools.

The men were members of the Louisiana Metalsmiths Association that Riehl now serves as vice president, and they told Riehl that he would have to wear pants, boots, protective eye wear and an apron to take part in the fun.

"I don't think they expected me to come back, but I came back the following year dressed in the proper attire. And they felt obligated to let me under the rope," Riehl said.

He's been blacksmithing ever since and celebrated his 10th anniversary in April.

About five years ago, Riehl moved from a small space in his backyard into a tall, open-air shop in Carencro that is owned by Richard Delahoussaye, the president of the Louisiana Metalsmiths Association.

Riehl began as Delahoussaye's apprentice but has become his partner through the years.

"Sam is a real inspiration to me with his devotion to what he does," Delahoussaye said. "It keeps him going, and that keeps me going. We make a great team. We inspire each other."

In less than two weeks, Riehl will begin classes at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he plans to study industrial design to further develop his passion.

Riehl will also be supervising the university's metalworking shop used by industrial design, visual arts, architecture and interior design students.

"For years, he's been asking me for the job when he gets old enough," said Chad Aldridge, shop supervisor for UL. "He'll be a great addition. It's going to be great to watch him with the kids."

Learn more

Find out more about Sam Riehl's blacksmithing work and custom projects by visiting his website at ariehlblacksmith.com.