At Kimball Crafter we Create and Educate!

Nicholas Kimball is a professional blacksmith in Northern Virginia who specializes in historic ironwork.

Nicholas started working metal as a hobby and semi-professionally at a young age and found himself with an opportunity to pursue the craft full-time. In 2009, he was selected for a full-time apprenticeship with a focus in early American ironwork. Under the tutelage of a Master Smith, the next few years were dedicated to learning the basics of the trade. In addition to the apprenticeship, he has attended many classes at various art schools, trade schools, and forges up and down the East Coast. In 2018 he was promoted to the Head Smith at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. His role at Mount Vernon includes research, teaching and instructing the trade, and creating historic hand-crafted hardware, tools, and utensils. Outside of Mount Vernon, he maintains his own shop, Kimball Crafter, and occasionally works at other forges in the area. Forgings he’s created have been used in the restoration as well as on display at a number of historic sites and museums around the country and he actively demonstrates the trade to the public.