BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A twin-cities man will soon have his craftsmanship shown on national television.
Taylor Matthews, owner and craftsman at Edge of Normal Workshop on South Madison Street in Bloomington, has been blacksmithing for 10 years, and started his business in 2021.
But the biggest step in getting his name out into the world came three and a half years ago when he competed in an episode of the History Channel show Forged In Fire.
Matthews shared what it was like showcasing his work for the world to see.
“The exposure for a small business, you can’t beat this,” he said. “A lot of our business relies on word of mouth and us putting out a good service and a good product, but then being able to take it to a national TV channel is beyond comprehension.”
Matthews also talked about how he wants to use this moment to continue to take his business to the next level.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to use the exposure to grow as a business and make sure that I can keep tracing my craft and doing what I want to do in making knives and sharing what I know with the community.”
In Forged In Fire, competitors create a blade of their choice, often a variation of a culinary knife or historical blade that they try to get through a three-round elimination tournament with.
Most recently, Benjamin Bays of Normal was named a Forged In Fire champion in 2023.
A watch party for Matthews will be held at Joe’s Station House on Veterans Parkway in Normal, with the episode starting at 9 p.m.
WMBD TV can be reached at News@WJBC.com.
