On a sweltering July day in 2012, Harry Hansen crouched behind a young horse, trimming its hind hoof in his lap. A seasoned Chaffee County farrier, he felt the gelding tug once, then again, and waited for it to relax. Suddenly, the horse yanked its foot free, striking Harry in the back before delivering a sharp kick to his jaw. The blow left him with a gashed chin, three missing teeth and a traumatic brain injury.

At 39, Harry realized his days of shoeing horses were numbered. Plagued by migraines and brain fog, he was unable to work for months. In true small-town fashion, his hometown of Salida rallied around him, helping with groceries and mortgage payments. Six months into Harry’s recovery, he and his wife, Nicole, began imagining a new future. Combining his blacksmithing skills with her expertise as a jeweler, they launched Sterling & Steel.

Neighbors rented them a garage, where they set up a forge and grinder. Soon, they were crafting custom jewelry and housewares that blended stainless steel and sterling silver. Their designs paired rustic elements with refined finishes – like a stainless-steel cuff inlaid with gold or a hand-hammered fork handle crowned by polished silver tines.

Nicole, a fourth-generation Coloradan, had honed her craft in her family’s Boulder jewelry shop, Master Goldsmiths. Harry, meanwhile, grew up off-grid in Arizona, learning to weld and shape iron from his father. The two met in 1991 in Sedona, where Harry lived with his parents and five siblings on a sprawling 177-acre tree farm. A shared love of horses and metalsmithing sparked their bond.

By 1997, the couple had relocated to Salida, drawn by Nicole’s longing for Colorado’s change of seasons and the warmth of a welcoming community.

In 2013, they took Sterling & Steel on the road, traveling to arts festivals and juried craft shows nationwide. At home, they hosted workshops for couples designing their own wedding rings.

“The marriage of sterling and steel is a metaphor for our life together,” Harry explained. “Nicole works in precious metals; I work in steel. She works it cold; I work it hot. We don’t compete – we complement each other.”

By 2019, the couple had grown tired of constant travel. Missing their two teenage children and their Salida roots, they pivoted again, opening Riveting Experience on historic F Street. Part jewelry store, part workshop, the space hums with creativity, its brightly lit interior beckoning locals and tourists alike. Copper cuffs, turquoise necklaces and hoop earrings share space on an inspiration wall with belt buckles and embossed metal plates on caps.

On a recent Saturday, the shop buzzes with activity. Denverite Jessica Feiler, wearing a “Bride-to-Be” sash, hunches over an oak laminate workbench with her seven bridesmaids, crafting bracelets and necklaces from copper, leather and silver. Jessica stamps an owl design onto a silver pendant, while her sister runs a copper disc through a rolling mill, embossing it with a laser-cut pattern. Another bridesmaid hammers a dimpled texture into a copper band as others sift through trays of bangles, beads and gems for their projects.

Guided by Harry and his two assistants, each participant learns to select materials and fabricate their pieces step-by-step.

“Riveting Experience is a chance to share our love of metalsmithing with a much broader audience,” Nicole said. “We saw the pleasure and sense of accomplishment people felt in our wedding ring workshops and wanted to build on that.”

Travelers are known to plan their trips around a stop in Salida to make jewelry with the Hansen team, Harry added. “For us, it’s a pretty special thing to share that creative journey with those who otherwise might not have the time, space or means to make jewelry on their own.”