Art and craft
Matt and Karine Maynard have built a unique and inspiring business in their shop in Lawrenceburg.
Their products reach across Kentucky, spread throughout the country and have been discussed in classrooms in England. And sometimes, they even find footing in someone’s home.
The Maynards own and operate Maynard Studios, a blacksmith shop where they hand forge truly beautiful items that combine art and craft, form and function.
“This is our 27th year of doing this, and I think that the projects we do really do blur the line between sculpture and function, and they tell a story,” Matt says, standing on the porch of a Salvisa home, where he and two others are installing a custom, blackened bronze stair railing.
The railing, in the home of Doug and Charlotte Scudder, who are Blue Grass Energy consumer-members, tells a story of the Scudders and their property. It features artistic elements to represent a nearby river, swirling wind, tree branches, bees and one adorable blackened bronze mouse.
The Maynards, who have won multiple awards from the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association, plan to enter this piece for consideration as well. It’s a collaboration with Crown Stair in Lexington.
The Maynards, who lectured at Hereford College in England in 2019, have created pieces for many of Kentucky’s distilleries, including Woodford Reserve and Maker’s Mark, and they even created a branding iron for actor Johnny Depp’s Three Hearts rum brand earlier this year.
But their influence just keeps going. They are founding members of both a disaster relief nonprofit, known as Burners Without Borders, and the Anderson County Arts Council. Annually, the council hosts an art trail, and it’s the one day of the year that Maynard Studios is open to the public. This year’s trail is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
