Meridian Farm and Forge

Danielle Lattuga

I grew up in rural Vermont, where I was lucky enough to wander freely in the family garden, the surrounding wildflower fields and the flanks of Equinox Mountain. My mother would cut lilacs and peonies that I would carry to our elderly neighbor or to a favorite school teacher, burying my face in the fragrant blooms all along the way. My love of flowers, winged beasts and growing things is older than I am, but it wasn’t until I met Zach that I actually started to believe I could center my life around them—and live what I had dreamed of for as long as I can remember. I moved to Montana for adventure, and eventually graduate school in environmental writing. I never left. Good thing I stuck around so I could meet my love and we could meld our vision for a life focused on sustainability and beauty. One that demands a lot of a body and soul. One that is a blessing we are eager to share.

Zach Seligman

I grew up in New Mexico.  Exploring the wild places of the southwest gave me an appreciation for the natural environment and my role in it.  A love for wilderness, laboring on the land and the right inspirations at the right time has culminated in the all-around, full-body, problem solving rhythm inherent in a lifestyle of farm-work and blacksmithing.  

My journey with blacksmithing and metal craft, while relatively young, has been full.  I was originally inspired by books written by my late grandmother, which were appreciation pieces bringing together example works of great craftsman and artists.  This ember, mixed with my need for a mix of physical and cerebral work has cracked open what seems to be unlimited opportunities for studying different forms, techniques, materials, perspectives and more.  

Blacksmithing has helped me to find inspiration and nearly a good night’s rest at the end of each day through a never-ending front of novel tasks.  From Alex Bealer’s, The Art of Blacksmithing…”The blacksmith was not a machine, he was a man meeting the challenges and glories of each new day in his own individual manner.  Because of this, most smiths were happy men.”