Located in Melbourne’s Inner West, Waterside Metal Art Studio (Waterside) is an artist blacksmith studio offering blacksmithing courses, quality forging supplies and tools, blacksmiths coke and a space where members can forge. The purpose of the studio is to provide a relaxed and inspiring space, where people with an interest in metalwork can gather to pursue artistic and creative metal forging using traditional and/or modern tools and techniques. Current members include blacksmiths, electricians, geologists, boat builders, managers and drafts-men. Basically we come from all walks of life and we all like to work steel! The studio is ideally located along a quiet section of the Maribyrnong River in Footscray. 

The group was established in 2011 by Steve Phillips (Estebaan) who studied blacksmithing in Antwerp (Belgium). Upon his return to Australia, he started sharing the space with the award winning metal artist Noel Muscat.

Estebaan installed two traditional coke/coal fired blacksmith forges in the building, using equipment imported from Belgium and Germany. He assists in teaching classes at Waterside.

At the end of 2011, Jack Wylestone joined the forge. Jack is one of Victoria’s finest blacksmiths, he is fully trained and teaches classes at Waterside.

Waterside maintains links with a number of other blacksmith groups including the Mont Delancey Blacksmithing Group,  The Artist Blacksmiths Association of NSW, Tasmanian Artist Blacksmith Association and the Australian Blacksmiths Association (Victoria) Inc.