06/18/2026
We are honored to share that this week, Touchstone Center for Crafts received the ABANA Heritage Award from the Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America - ABANA.
The Heritage Award recognizes organizations that have made a significant and lasting contribution to increasing public knowledge and awareness of the blacksmith’s craft.
In announcing the award, ABANA President Frank Annighofer wrote, “For decades, Touchstone has kept the fire of the forge burning brightly.”
The award was presented this week during the ABANA Level I Instructor Intensive at Touchstone, a program dedicated to training the next generation of blacksmithing instructors. We are grateful to instructors Victoria Ritter and Becky Schimpff, and to ABANA for their continued support of blacksmithing education.
For more than five decades, Touchstone has welcomed blacksmiths of all skill levels to learn, teach, and share the traditions of the forge. This recognition belongs to the many instructors, studio supervisors, interns, staff, volunteers, and participants who have helped build and sustain our blacksmithing program over the years.
Thank you, ABANA, for this tremendous honor.
Pictured (left to right): Andrew J. Welton, Studio Supervisor; Lindsay Ketterer Gates, Executive Director; and Becky Schimpff and Rusty Osborne from the ABANA Board of Directors.
