It all began in 2010 when Jim Martin, who is a jack of all trades, saw a functional problem with the common gate latch at his home in Dallas, TX. Being self employed for the majority of his life and the handyman that he is, he found himself carrying materials around his property, which meant moving through the backyard gate was a constant obstacle. One day he set out to solve this problem by inven
ting an innovative new design for a hands free gate latch, which became the birthplace of Martin Metalworks LLC. In 2014, Jim achieved a US patent for his ground breaking design of a gate latch that you could not only activate with full hands from both sides, but it would also propel the gate open so you can move through freely! It was in the process of setting up a home workshop equipped for manufacturing his patented gate latch that the possibilities opened up to create so much more! In the year to follow, he began to successfully create and sell an extensive variety of handcrafted steel designs both beautiful and practical. In this exciting season, Jim brought his daughter Heather and step daughter Lauren on-board in a partnership with Ashes+Oak, which at it's core was a faith-based home design and diy blog. Realizing that we all had something to bring to the table, we teamed up to collaborate ideas to produce unique wood and metal pieces of art, both decorative and practical for your home. In our faith-based business, we strive to provide the highest level of excellence in our handmade product line. Each product we design has a finish that is as unique and individual as you are with a patina that can continue to develop and change over time. It is this distinctive, unpredictable, character quality about steel that we love! Our products are handmade with great care out of Jim's personal workshop in Dallas, TX, and no two products are exactly alike. Thank you for looking and we hope that you find something that will speak to your heart and bring personality and organization to all of your spaces! Check back often as we'll be posting new inventory all the time!
