Meet Mike
For over 40 years, Mike Platt has been forging metal in the fire as a blacksmith, farrier, and since 2018, a custom mokume gane jewelry maker. He is passionate about teaching kids and adults the art and tradition of blacksmithing at his home forge in Easton, New Hampshire as well as small group classes at The Littleton Studio School.
Mike was raised in Pennsylvania and trained as a farrier at the Oklahoma Farrier School in 1981, and subsequently under Marshall Conklin at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982. His skills were honed at the racetracks, polo fields, and backyard barns of Pennsylvania and Connecticut before moving to New Hampshire in 2001. He holds certifications from the American Farrier Association, Pennsylvania Professional Farriers Association, and the Penn National Racetrack.
Mike is also an instructor at the Littleton Studio School where he teaches classes in forged jewelry. As an artist, he has exhibited at the Gallery at WREN and the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts. Additionally, Mike holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and specializes in the design and development of jet and rocket engines.
“My early blacksmithing work evolved from my long career as a farrier, where making horseshoes and blacksmithing tools was one of the highlights of my job. I’m constantly drawn to heat of the forge, the sound of the anvil, and the rhythm of the hammer.”
