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Donald (Doc) and Blenda Marquardt Donald (Doc) Marquardt grew up on a farm working with tools. His fascination with making things led him to college, where he earned a Ph.D. and to become a high school shop teacher. As a teacher, he stressed pride in craftsmanship and appreciation for the form and function of practical objects. He enjoyed teaching many skills, but especially those involving metalworking. In 2000, he left full-time teaching to become a pewtersmith. As a teacher and craftsman, he understands that spinning and casting in pewter calls for the same patience as engaging a bored teenager. As a student of the art, he values the legacy of the beautiful and functional utensils that have lived on as family treasures. His designs recall the care and aesthetics of those early artisans. His handcrafted pieces appeal to those who collect for this and later generations and who value the simple, soft, and subdued texture and color of pewter. Donald's wife, Blenda, is the business manager and is an apprentice, gaining expertise in all the techniques of spinning and casting. She and Donald discuss new designs and she sketches the designs that are then created into molds. Donald and Blenda work in a large studio he constructed in a former tobacco barn. The setting reminds Donald of his simpler rural life. Many days he raises the barn doors to savor the country setting he loves and to use the natural daylight for detailed finishing. The studio combines two important aspects of his life, a love of fine craftsmanship and the joy of being back on the farm. Often after a long day in the studio, Donald and Blenda tend their large garden or walk out to the pond to fish and watch the setting sun. Inspired by tradition, handcrafted with pride. Village Pewter
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