Dean Mook began blacksmithing in 1975 when he trained with master blacksmith Frank Turley, at his blacksmithing school in Santa Fe, New Mexico.He established a blacksmith shop in Port Townsend, Washington that same year, known as Irondale Forge.

Dean worked for about six years at the forge. Then, with a new family and in need of a steady income, he went to work in a boatyard running the metalworking shop. Dean's expertise honed at the boatyard includes precision fitting, and the ability to design and create practical, aesthetic and cost effective solutions to an endless array of project requirements. These skills enhance Dean's artistic eye and natural talent with the hammer.

In 1999 Dean started to work full time as a blacksmith again, this time as an employee for Steve Lopes, in the same shop that Dean had established 25 years earlier. In July 2004 Steve Lopes moved into a new, larger shop outside of town, and Dean took over once again as proprietor of the blacksmith shop in downtown Port Townsend, now known as Town Forge.

Dean is currently the owner and operator of Town Forge, located in the same building that housed Irondale Forge nearly 30 years ago. He creates custom designed, hand forged metalwork for residential and commercial projects.

Dean Mook in the hot room
at the blacksmith shop.

"It's a remarkable sight when Mook sucks up his breath and wails away at a weld, working quickly and without a false move. It makes a person feel as if an admission fee should have been charged."