Michael Terragna

From his website http://coppersmith-tinsmith.com/

Master metalsmith Michael P. Terragna has been working with copper and tin for over thirty-five years. As a sheet metal worker in the early 1970s, Michael spent his spare time teaching himself the tinsmithing trade in his grandmother’s basement. It wasn’t long before his talent for reproducing historic lighting began attracting attention in his hometown of Glastonbury, Connecticut. Believing that modern equipment could not accurately reproduce the work of early American tinsmiths, Michael began purchasing antique machinery with money earned from craft shows. Injured on a construction job in 1981, Michael was forced to make a career change and turned his beloved hobby of tinsmithing into his new means of earning a living.

In 1983 Michael moved to Sturbridge, Massachusetts and opened “The Coppersmith”, a small shop specializing in handcrafted reproduction lighting and decorative accessories. Using the same designs, machinery and craftsmanship as they did in the 1800s, Michael was able to successfully replicate the work of tinsmiths from that time period. Aging each piece to perfection with his own hand-rubbed finish, resulted in a product that stood out from, and above, other reproductions. Throughout his lengthy career, Michael received recognition and honors from many prestigious institutions, among them Early American Life magazine, the Abby Rockefeller Foundation, and the White House.

Diagnosed with cancer in 2002, Michael was forced to close his shop, after twenty-one years, to concentrate on regaining his health. Returning to Sturbridge in 2007, Michael set up a showroom, at Village Primitives (428 Main Street), stocked with his beautifully handcrafted reproduction sconces, lanterns, chandeliers, lamps, interior and exterior lighting and accessories. Michael is a true craftsman in every sense of the word. While others in his trade have given in to mass producing and importing, Michael continues his reign as the only remaining Master Tinsmith in New England.

Here is an apple roaster that he made.