Noble Forge iron works takes the art of metalwork to the next level with an acute attention to detail and skill that is reflected in every piece of work we create. As masters of the blacksmithing craft, we use time-tested, traditional methods to create one-of-a-kind custom forged pieces that are built to last generations. Noble Forge specializes in ornamental iron work.

Phillip Bowling and Noble Forge have been featured in several magazines including: Architectural Digest, Ironworks Today2, and The Anvil’s Ring.

Noble Forge has also been featured in the Pasadena Showcase House of Design for multiple years.

In the ancient art of blacksmithing, a sense of craftsmanship is retained that offers an aesthetic which is lost in mass produced and store bought items. We are deeply committed to the craft and to creating custom, quality products. Since 1996 Noble Forge has been exceptional in bringing a richness of texture, a variety of metals and hand-crafted expressions to every project. With our client in mind for every piece, we welcome input throughout the entire creative process.

Our North Hollywood iron works can create custom gates, doors, fireplace or privacy screens, accessories, artistic functional pieces as well as beautiful accent pieces. If you can imagine it in metal, we can bring your vision to life.

Shipping options are available for most pieces. We serve Orange County, the Los Angeles area, and beyond…

About the Artist

A Life Shaped By Steel

For over twenty-five years Phillip Bowling, artisan blacksmith and founder of Noble Forge, has been proudly preserving the time-honored tradition of hand-forged metal artwork. While often partnering with top architects, contractors, celebrity decorators and designers, Phillip’s passion for metalwork flourishes with each project.

Phillip got his start in metal working in his hometown, Louisville, Kentucky; where he trained with local artisans and blacksmiths and later went on to serve a four-year apprenticeship with the Boilermakers Union. Determined to further master the craft of blacksmithing. Phillip ventured out west where he founded Noble Forge in North Hollywood in 1996.

In addition to his outstanding skill and design sense, Bowling brings an intangible element to his metalwork, going beyond the physical world. “Nature is the greatest catalyst for my work, the natural world is intertwined with my existence.  I am drawn to explore my setting through hiking, gathering, and photographing in the hills and valley near my home and am constantly searching for new shapes and forms to integrate into my work.”

Always straying from commercial mass production, Phillip maintains an uncompromising commitment to the purest form of his craft in each one of his uniquely beautiful pieces.  “To finish one of my designs, or make a new design, if I need a special tool, I have to make it.”  Phillip makes all of his own hammers, tongs or any other implement he uses to shape metal.  All the work he produces is custom, exclusive, hand-designed and executed.  As a result, Phillip takes great pride in making home furnishings and decorative objects to add a custom and original touch to any home or business.  Each piece created regardless of its size, features, and complexity of design receives an uncompromising attention to quality and detail.

An artist at heart, when Phillip is not sculpting one of his beautiful pieces, you can  find him playing guitar and singing in his band, or cruising the backroads on his Harley looking for opportunities to enhance his craft.

History of Blacksmithing

Throughout history, iron and the ancient artisans who first discovered how to shape and control it, became the key influences behind the rise of every major civilization known to humankind. The blacksmith, as later generations came to call this type of craftsman, individually hand-forged the thousands of various metal objects that made-up the very equipment of everyone’s daily life. Soldiers, merchants, farmers, homesteaders and even other artisans, depended on blacksmiths to supply them with everything from nails, to swords, cooking utensils and andirons in their fireplaces. When any such item broke, the blacksmith repaired it. He also created and maintained his own shop tools – anvils, hammers, tongs, swages and all the special tools invented for specific jobs. Many experts suggest that the success of many early societies was owed to the level of skill held by their blacksmiths.

Down through the ages, as the array of tools and equipment becoming available made life a little easier, societies began to appreciate the comfort and convenience of better material goods. The village blacksmith became the key to beautiful houses, lighting appliances, luxurious household fittings, decorative gates, and balustrading. European cathedrals and castles in particular exhibited superbly detailed wrought ironwork through the 17th and 18th centuries.

The blacksmith had flourished as a major social force for more than 2000 years, his tools, and techniques needing no change. Then in the early part of the 20th century, his once pivotal role began vanishing under the weight of precision, speed and output capabilities of the machinery of mass production. While the demise of the village blacksmith was total, a small niche remained for custom-designed architectural work. Custom Ironworks Blacksmith ForgeThe continuance of the art was due in part to such individuals who proved that no mere machine could replicate the artistry or capture the essential nature of blacksmithing. Then towards the end of the 1960’s a wave of nostalgia led a revolution of sorts away from impersonal industrialization back to the ways of our ancestors. The old and previously forgotten and rusting forges and anvils began to take their place alongside modern tools and equipment now used to enhance rather than replace traditional techniques.

Today’s Artist Blacksmith is once again proving to be the source of many unique forms of metal artwork that will stand the test of time to become the legacy for tomorrow. As society has become more affluent, the Artist Blacksmith is able to incorporate his vision into his well-established work formula based on design, function, and craft. Grand gates, beautiful furniture, and graceful architectural elements in homes and buildings have redefined the blacksmith as an artist for all ages.