BlacksmitHER Radio

Episode #27 – Tobbe Malm “Iron Roses and Bolt Poetry”

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Tobbe Malm is an artist blacksmith and photographer living and working in Oslo, Norway.  He aspires to capture moments of time and emotions with his forged art.   His business has been growing, and almost exploding with the help of the internet lately.  He is known for the tremendous amount of effort he has spent on a collaborative project for the tragedy that happened in Oslo, Norway on July 22nd, 2011, the project is called “Iron Rose for Oslo”.

What We Talked About

 

  • Recently, Tobbe has been making sculptures that consist of bolts depicting human forms displaying emotions, and they are becoming viral on the internet around the world.

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    • The story behind the bolts started a year ago, summer of 2014, at a German Blacksmithing Festival in Kolbermoor, when Tobbe was awarded the Alfred Habermann Memorial Prize for orchestrating the Iron Rose for Oslo Project.  A collaborative project that involves 1300 roses forged from blacksmiths all over the world. At the festival, he wanted to forge something that was tied to the Iron Rose project, but something different than a rose.  Enter the bolt design, they were designed to express human emotions, specifically, the feelings of the survivors that lost family members in the Oslo tragedy.

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      • In 2011, Tobbe started an incredible collaborative project called the "Iron Rose for Oslo". He has collaborated with many blacksmiths around the world asking them to send him their forged roses to honor the victims of the tragedy that fell on a small summer camp for children in July of 2011.  The Rose has become a potent symbol of compassion in Norway after the gruesome attack that claimed 77 lives.

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        • What makes this “Iron Rose” project even more special is Tobbe’s willingness to invite the survivors into his shop and teach them how to make their own rose for the project.  So far, he has taught around 150 survivors.

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          • Tobbe has changed the design of the project and hopes to have it completed and installed by this summer (2015) in an old park in Oslo, Norway.  He is still raising the money needed to build and install the new design.  How much money does he need to raise?  5 million Norwegian Krones or $650,000 US dollars.

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            • Tobbe also talks about how he approaches blacksmithing in the Norwegian culture, which is very traditional. He started blacksmithing by making knives at first and then it grew into making sculpture.  One year later he started his blacksmithing business.

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              • We talk about his computer ability, how he built his own website, and how it is helping grow his business.

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                • His blacksmith shop has a gallery space to display his sculptural work as well as a workshop area.  He rents his shop for $1300 a month.

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                  • We have a common interest in music, Gogol Bordello, check him out here, http://www.gogolbordello.com/music/

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                    Guest Links

                     

                    Tobbe Malm’s metal artwork website - http://www.jernmalm.com/

                     

                    Personal Facebook  Page – https://www.facebook.com/TobbeMalm?fref=ts

                     

                    Metal Artwork Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/TobbeMalmMetalArt?pnref=lhc

                     

                    Iron Rose for Olso Facebook Community page - https://www.facebook.com/IronRoseForNorway/timeline

                     

                    Roses for Oslo Website - http://jernrosen.no/

                     

                    Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/jernmalm/

                     

                    Instagram – Tobbe_Malm_ Metalart

                    A Big Thank You to today’s sponsor – Nimba Anvils, www.nimbaanvils.com

                     

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