The Story of Iron Eden

It seems fitting that in a city once known as the iron and steel making capital of the world, John Walter, a blacksmith and owner of Iron Eden, has made his mark with custom iron work.

Walter's free-flowing, nature-based creations – gates, chairs, staircases, trellises, tables and sculptures featuring trees and flowers that curve and jut in all directions- would look at home in Alice's Wonderland or in a scene from "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

"Organic iron work--that's my signature style," Walter says.

With the tagline of "our garden is always in full bloom," Iron Eden's one-of-a-kind artwork has been springing up all over the city for the past quarter of a century.

Barrel-chested with a clean-shaven head and a well-groomed goatee, Walter looks the part of a no-nonsense Merchant Marine that he once was. But sitting in his Bloomfield gallery, a giant sunflower sculpture behind him, a bird cage dangling from the ceiling and a praying mantis guarding the gates leading into the room, it's clear that  the Midshipman's discipline is fired by an intense creativity.

At Phipps Conservatory, Walter conjured up a two-headed dragon topiary adorned with bulging red eyeballs, jagged gold teeth and smoke billowing out of the beasts' mouths and created the "Gates of Hell," featuring iron tree branches rising from the ground like flames. When the world's leaders gathered at Phipps for a working dinner at the G20, they gathered at a knockout of a wooden table from Riverview Park trees that Walter helped craft.

Walter restored gates at the 100-room Sewickley Heights estate of industrialist Benjamin Franklin Jones. He created fixtures and mirrors at Maxalto and Moda in Shadyside and a wood-burning pizza oven at Enrico's. He has done work for the pious (fences at the restored Trinity Cathedral, Downtown) and the playful (a 35-foot high chimney stack at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort).

"I think he has the unique ability to pull almost anything off," says John's wife, Jody, a jewelry designer who used to own Sunshine Bead Company in Mount Lebanon and Sunshine in the City in the Strip District. "He always seems to be able to translate any style into iron and no project is ever too big or too complicated."

One Man's Scrap is Another's Material
Pittsburgh architect Matthew Schlueb sought out Walter to fabricate the hinges on the front door of his Franklin Park house. But one thing led to another. A stair railing reflecting a tree motif became the building block for other projects.

"I liked the imagery so much that we decided to repeat it throughout the house, in the fireplace screen [and on] bar stools, to tie the house and the woods together visually," Schlueb says. In keeping with the nature theme, Walter also made a curved shower curtain rod, with the curtain composed of raindrop-like blue circles that hang down from the rod.

The material for many of Walter's creations comes from industrial and manufacturing leftovers. "Their scrap is my beginning piece," he said.

Blacksmithing is among the most ancient professions – "that, and the other one," Walter quips. Modern gas forges and welding equipment make his life a little easier, but fine touch and attention to detail remain paramount. "Most of the really good work relies on hand work," Walter says.

His admiration for iron was forged out at sea. The South Hills native graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1974, then sailed around the world with the Merchant Marines for a decade. In addition to unloading cargo at ports, Walter ran the power and propulsion systems on the ships. "Working with iron and tools was part of my Marine engineer training," Walter said. "More than 90 percent of a modern merchant ship is made out of steel."

As Walter navigated the globe , he also studied artistic styles. Europe in particular proved inspirational. "That's where the really decorated stuff emanated from," Walter said. "Stunning examples of iron work," he says, citing artists in Venice, Florence and Paris. "Before the days of workman's comp and social security, those guys had the time to bring a job to completion," he said. "The client didn't want it next week. Some of the cathedrals took 200, 300 years, so they were able to take their time."

When Walter returned to Pittsburgh and opened his own shop in Bloomfield, he attended some iron works demonstrations hosted by the Pittsburgh Area Artist-Blacksmiths Association. But mostly learned the profession on his own. "I just read some books," he said. "Trial and error. I didn't have any lessons, other than the skills I developed out at sea."

"It's not just a hobby," he said. "It's a business. A lot of people can handle the iron work aspect, but not the business side. There's a lot of people who can handle the business side, but not the iron work."

After moving to Mt. Lebanon,  John and Jody opened  EdenHouse in May 2009, a short-term residence and event space located above Iron Eden's art gallery on Liberty Avenue which can be rented for a day or a few months. SEE POP CITY STORY HERE

"We haven't had any problems so far," Walter said. "Knock on wood". He looks around for some lumber and, finding none in this iron studio, raps his own head. "It's been good."

David Golebiewski is a senior at Duquesne who lives in O'Hara Township.

Photographs except for last image copyright Brian Cohen