Stories

David & Ramón: Metalworking

Spanish master metalworker Ramón Recuero Ibáñez and fellow David González Parrilla

After studying ironwork with a coal forge at the School of Arts, Ramón Recuero Ibáñez opened his own workshop at the age of 27. His work was soon recognised and he was awarded several prizes for design applied to craftsmanship. Compiling traditional techniques and their application in the creation of works for clients, he began to give courses, and making tutorials for YouTube, reaching more than 85,000 subscribers.

Already familiar with traditional forging as a result of several short courses at the Blacksmiths’ School, after 10 years dedicated to nursing, David González Parrilla decided to make a radical change in his professional life. In February 2023, he left nursing and joined, as an apprentice at the workshop of the School of Blacksmiths with the aim of making traditional and artistic forging his trade.

Silla Toledo

Toledo-based master metalworker Ramón and fellow David combined their skills to create a wrought iron chair. Crafted with traditional forging techniques, the structure of the chair is based on straight lines. The seat, handwoven from local bulrush, forms a geometric weave, evoking typical Art Deco patterns. The back of the chair is decorated with gold leaf, creating a marked chromatic contrast between the wrought iron and the golden sheen. For the creation of this work, ancestral techniques were combined, forging with a hammer and using a coal forge, as well as contemporary techniques, such as electric welding.