Yeah, I've already posted this elsewhere - but I just can't help it. I'm so damn proud of my step-father, and more than happy to admit it. *grins* He's doing something he truly loves, and it's turning out more than just 'well' for him.

From the Washington Post:

Joe Sitton is a philosopher with a heavy hammer. As the farrier-turned-artist pounded a piece of steel into a table leg soon to grace the new Market Street Coffee shop in Purcellville, he could not hide the passion he feels toward his work.

"Being able to take a dirty bucket of coal, cold steel, a little heat, a little hammer to make something sound and that has some beauty, it brings out the creativity," he said. "I think everyone has an artistic side in them."
Sitton, 60, spent 25 years as a farrier, heating, pounding and shaping metal to make horseshoes. While taming rough horses that others didn't want to touch, he discovered his creativity and artistic side. He opened Ironheart Forge, an ironworking shop, about eight years ago to pursue "what we could do with hot steel other than make horseshoes."

At first, it was a hobby. But as more people asked him to build gates, trellises and wall sconces, the shop soon paid for itself and turned a profit, Sitton said. He never had to take out a loan for equipment, and he never advertised.

(The rest of the article's at the link - I never know how much I can or can't rightly post. )