The Wicks have been in the metal trade since the early 1900s. My great-great-grandfather worked on the Statue of Liberty and my great-grandfather was a pioneer in the field of welding. He ran a welding shop and later a welding school during WWII where he and my grandfather trained welders in support of the war effort.
After the War, the family moved to Connecticut where they continued in the metal business - running a manufacturing company called Wicks Products.
First Wicks Welding Shop in Flushing, Queens circa 1920's.
Edward Wicks teaching a class of female welders during WWII.
Some years later I came along. Growing up I was a product of my mother and father - an artist and a carpenter. I loved working with my hands and creating functional pieces of art, but I never learned to work metal. I remember walking around my grandfather's garage where he still kept many of his tools from the old days. I felt like an archeologist who has no idea what artifacts he has just unearthed.
William Wicks lecturing to a class on the use of welding torches.
Wicks Welding advertisement from 1943.
Serendipity then stepped in. I was in Scotland completing a masters degree in environmental resource management and found a master blacksmith named Jim Whitson. He ran a shop outside of Edinburgh called The Blazing Blacksmith. Wanting to learn a new trade, I approached Jim and he agreed to take me on as his apprentice during my stay in Scotland.
Jim Whitson, master blacksmith and Nick in Scotland.
Working under Jim, I learned from the rich Scottish tradition of metalworking. More importantly, I learned how masters like Jim approach their craft.
Returning to the United States, I found a that I now had the foundation of a trade but no longer had the workshop or equipment needed to practice. Fate is funny though, and returning to my grandfather's garage, I found that the tools my family had passed down for generations no longer were so mysterious in my eyes. Rather than some strange artifacts, each tool now held meaning and purpose. With this foundation, Wicks' forge was born in 2013.
Our business has grown in scope over the years to offer a range of custom metalworking services:
Direct Retail and Wholesale metalwork
Architectural Ironwork, Gates, and Railings
General Welding and Fabrication
Barware Products
Wedding, Bridal, and Groomsmen Gifts
Fireplace Screens and Fire Tools
Blacksmiths once offered critically important services in the communities in which they operated. While many of those services have shifted over the years, Wicks Forge believes strongly in honoring that tradition of service. So whether you Interested in a single hook or a custom gate, feel free to reach out to us to see how we can be of help.
——- Nicholas Wicks Moreau
Check out some of our press coverage here
We are a third-generation family owned and operated business specializing in custom metalwork.
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