David Hyde: Contemporary Blacksmith

"... Verdigris; where engineering becomes art ..."

Verdigris's proprietor, David Hyde, achieved a first class honours degree in Electro-acoustics at Salford University in 1984 before becoming involved in research into speech coding with British Telecom. He followed this with postgraduate study towards a PhD at Manchester University where he researched digital signal processing and dispersion in optical fibres.

David Hyde fire welding steel on an anvil

He went on to become a teacher of Mathematics and Physics and it was during this six year period that he acquired an interest in silversmithing which soon led to blacksmithing.

Finding the hands-on nature of smithing immensely rewarding, combined with the creative satisfaction of both designing and making contemporary metalwork, David left the teaching profession to establish Verdigris in 2001.

Since then Verdigris has gained a reputation for the creation of detailed contemporary and innovative metalwork, with commissions installed as far a field as Marbella, the French Riviera and Washington DC USA.

When he is not in the forge David enjoys a bit of bird watching here and there and is in heaven whenever riding his motorcycle in and around the Alps.