Around
1979 Dean introduced a friend, Steve Lopes, to the art of
blacksmithing. They worked together for awhile until Dean,
with a new family and in need of a steady income, went to
work in a boatyard running the metalworking shop . Steve stayed
at the blacksmith shop, working for many lean years and growing
his reputation and clientele. In 1999 Dean started to work
with Steve again, this time as his employee, 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, naming the shop Town Forge.
In July 2014 Dean moved his shop to his home property, no longer operating a commercial space but still working at the forge. |