Sterling & Steel — Local services in Salida

My fiancé and I had a fantastic experience forging our wedding rings with Harry and Nicole! We were able to take her parents wedding rings, turn them into ingots, and use them in the creation of the new rings. Nicole and Harry are very receptive and accommodating to unique situations and made us feel very special and welcome the entire time. They walked us through the smithing process step-by-step and made their own rings beside us as an example – this was very helpful because we had no previous experience with forging of any sort. It was amazing to take a common stainless-steel nut and witness it slowly transform over a few hours into a beautiful ring. The wedding rings were 100% made by us, but Harry and Nicole were next to us every step of the way, for quality control in case we made any glaring errors. Even after we hit some setbacks early on (my fingers shrunk and I forged my ring too large), we never felt rushed and we were supported with grace the entire time. They also offer a satisfaction guarantee, so if you end up needing to change something about the ring down the road, they will take care of it! Besides the beautiful rings which we are extremely happy with, the best part of the day was getting to spend time with Harry and Nicole. 4-8 hours is a long time to spend with total strangers (especially for an introvert like me), but they are extremely kind and interesting people, and after several hours, they felt like good friends. We met their family (including Rivet the shop dog!) and learned about their unique pasts and ambitions to expand, which was a huge honor. They provided awesome recommendations for entertainment in Salida – Amica’s Pizza was delicious! We designed a weekend trip to Salida from Boulder, and it worked out great! We spent a day doing some mountain biking and another day doing some 14er climbing nearby. It was our first time in the Arkansas Valley, and we were blown away with its beauty. Overall, I highly recommend you visit Sterling & Steel to forge your wedding rings. When people ask about my unique ring, I can say, “I made that!” and I’ll be reminded of that special weekend in Salida with my...

The Wife: I contact Nicole a few months before the day I hoped to schedule. She responded right away, walked me briefly through the process and plugged us into their calendar and gave me a quote. She answered my questions along the way and made sure we were prepared. A bit last minute my husband and I had come up with the idea to add rivets derived from some leftover links from a silver bracelet he gave me and they accommodated us with the extra work and time to make that happen. I enjoyed watching the process as Harry walked my husband through the each step of turning a nut I bought at the local hardware store into something so meaningful and unique. I think I had just as much fun as he did even though I was only a spectator/photographer. They were both great about including me in the process too. This was an experience so incredibly special I cannot put a price on it! - Christin

The Husband: I earn my way in the world using my mind but there is something undeniably satisfying from working with your hands. The experience of transforming a stainless steel jam nut into a ring was amazing. Harry was patient and thorough with the explanation and education at each step. The processes of grinding, heating, hammering and repeating; each step requiring more and more precision. Then moving from the blacksmith forge to Nicole’s side of the shop, the jewelers space. Her coaching, demonstrating and guiding; the attention to detail ramping up ever higher with each honing and polishing step. What a wonderful experience. Highly...

My fiancee and I had an amazing experience with Nicole and Harry (and their pup, Rivet). Marriage is a lifelong commitment, so we wanted the rings we're going to wear the rest of our lives to be special and uniquely made with care. That's exactly what we got with Sterling & Steel. I made a size 4.5, 2mm, 18k yellow gold wedding band for my fiancee while she made my band at size 7, and 6mm.

During the process, we learned a ton about the fundamentals of metalsmithing and jewelry making. From melting down the raw material, to working the gold into a wire, shaping it into a ring, and smoothing and polishing your creation until it's something you'd see in a high end jewelry store, you get a sense of pride having created the rings you'll wear together for the rest of your lives.

Nicole guided us every step along the way and struck the perfect balance of letting us do the work while helping ensure we got the perfect final products. On top of it all, during the hours we spent in the workshop, we could tell that Nicole and Harry valued our story and getting to be a part of it. They also take pride in their work and let us come in the next morning to make sure everything was perfect.

Pricing was incredibly reasonable for the amount of time they spent with us working in the shop, gaining access to their equipment, paying for the raw materials, and walking away with personalized rings. In the end, it cost about the same as it would have been to buy mass produced rings from a giant company. We cannot recommend this...