Artisan’s Anvil copper products have always focused on quality first. Hopefully, you have already had the opportunity to witness this commitment up close with your very own set of copper mugs, pitcher, or one of our other kitchenware. You may not have thought much of how the copper was mined, smelted, pressed, formed, hammered, welded, and sealed. But, rest assured that we think about it quite a bit. Our process of bringing you exceptional quality copper has been tirelessly refined and tested to ensure you enjoy your purchase. We consider our copper wares works of art. This because every piece is made by hand making each item impressively unique and while also having a personality of sorts.
If you are curious how your copper mugs, pitcher, or stein comes to be… you need not wonder any more. Below we outline the steps that each copper item we offer goes through to ensure that you receive only the best quality copperware available today.
1. Sourcing Copper
The process starts with finding the pure copper that all of our shiny handcrafted products are made from. Copper is unique in that it can be reused over and over again without changing its properties. This means that recyled copper is just as beautiful as freshly mined copper. It is important to us that we use the environmentally friendly recycled copper over the mined variety whenever possible. So, recycled copper scraps are gathered from local shops, liquidators, manufacturers, and other parties. Once collected they are provided to the smelter.
2. Smelting & Refining Copper
All those tarnished scraps and pieces of copper and melted down in a furnace at high temperatures through a process called smelting. This removes much the impurities and ensures that the copper is as good as new. This process also makes the copper into an almost liquid form that can be poured into molds. The copper is poured into cylindrical or rectangle molds depending on the product that will be made from it.
3. Pressing the Copper
The copper is inspected at this point to ensure there are no issues with the quality of the copper. Many copper products for the home are made from copper sheets or copper wire/tubing. The molded chunks of pure copper are flattened into sheets or formed into tubing.
4. Forming the Rough Shape of the Copper Item
In the case of a copper mug, the flat copper sheets are laid out and circular holes are cut from the sheet. These circular discs of copper are then pressed, pulled, and shaped (this actual process is many more steps but condensed here for simplicity) by copper artisans to get the approximate shape and capacity of the mug being created.
5. Details are Added
Each copper item is inspected for shape, imperfections, and balance at this stage. Then, each mug is handed off to an artisan who creates the rounded edges, adds surface details such as design or hammering , and welds the handle, all by hand.
6. Polishing
Each copper item is then polished to give its trademark shine both on the exterior and interior.
7. Inhibiting Tarnish
If the item calls for it, a food safe lacquer is applied to the exterior of the copper item to slow down the tarnishing process. This coating is easily removed if preferred by the customer, but is mostly preferred as it maintains the shine much longer without copper polish.
8. Final Inspection
Each copper item is inspected by hand to ensure that the weight is correct, balance is centered, there are no large imperfections (small imperfections are part of the handmade process) such as cuts, dents, scrapes, etc.
9. Packaging
After inspection, each item is wrapped in packing paper to prevent dings then placed in a bag to protect the item during shipping. Then the copper ware is added to its box which is then labeled and sealed. It is now ready for its final journey to your home or bar!
One copper mug can take more than 60 days to go from pieces of recycled copper to the shiny piece of copper art that you hold in your hand. Artisan’s Anvil is humbled to be able to bring this amazing process into homes, bars, and restaurants across North America. We hope this gives you a good feeling about the care and time that goes into the copper wares we offer. Rest assured that any Artisan’s Anvil copper product is made with care by some of the finest copper craftsmen in the world for you to enjoy for years to come!