"Joe Strain began doing work with the Preservation Resource Center, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Tipitina's, "This Old House" TV show and a bevy of residential clients. Strain's business, originally in Slidell, was wiped out in Hurricane Katrina. The loss was profound, but Strain soon found a new workshop in typically serendipitous fashion. While driving around the north shore looking at properties, Strain came upon the piney lot along a dirt road occupied by other manufacturers. The owner happened to live nearby, and after the two men talked for a while, Strain was sold the property on a handshake. Strain's focus is on creating pieces that have as much old-fashioned blacksmithing quality and method as possible, he said. "It's a lot of fun to do it old-school, and it's really fun to do something both practical and architectural," he said. "We try to do how they did it years ago."'

​

-Times Picayune, Stephanie Stokes