LANSING, Iowa - A Lansing, Iowa, native has returned to open Big River Forge & Ironworks in a 127-year-old building at 80 S. Second St. in Lansing.

Jay Hisel, who lived in Lansing until he was 8, makes iron and metal art work and does steel fabrication work for individuals and businesses. His wife, Jeannine, does finishing and book work at the business and is busy at home with the couple's three children, ages 5 to 10.

Hisel, 40, and his wife, 34, create art work such as chandeliers, wrought-iron lamps, tables, mailbox art, signs, suns and half moons; garden art such as butterflies; and cabin products such as towel racks with a metal moose or bear on either side. Hisel also makes other iron and metal items, such as outdoor fireplaces and chimney caps.

His most elaborate creations are chandeliers that depict a bear, trout, trees, buffalo, moose and an Indian.

Hisel recently made two metal monkeys for display at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

He describes himself as a blacksmith and metal artist, and is a member of the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America - which is holding an annual conference June 5-9 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

"I like to blend the new technology with the old technology," Hisel said. "My tools range from a computer-controlled plasma cutter to a hammer and anvil. And I've got a coal-fired forge."

The Hisels moved to Lansing in December from a log home near Oconomowoc, Wis., and began leasing the building for their business in February. Hisel started making items there in mid-April and opened a retail store in the building in early May. Inside the store, visitors can watch through a window as Hisel makes his creations.

The two-story building, constructed in 1875 of native stone, at one time housed a livery stable and a carriage house.

Hisel graduated from high school in 1979 in Mayville, Wis., where his family had moved after his father took a sales position with the Lansing Button Co. His father, John Hisel, was responsible for the Lansing-based company's button sales in the state of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

After being trained at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac, Wis., Hisel became a tool and die maker for a company in Iron Ridge, Wis., in 1981.

"I spent most of my life working in a machine shop situation," Hisel said.
Three years ago, he and his wife started a blacksmith/metal art business on the side. "We called it Pioneer Ironworks when we lived in Wisconsin," he said. "We had a log home we had built in the woods" and felt the pioneer name was appropriate.

In December, Hisel quit his job as computer-aided design manager for a New Berlin, Wis., company that makes special-purpose machinery for industrial uses. He and his wife had decided to move to Lansing, and to make Pioneer Ironworks a full-time business under the new name Big River Forge & Ironworks.

"I had a good job (in New Berlin)," Hisel said. "But it was a 45-minute drive to work."
During a visit last July to see his grandmother, Minerva Strong of Lansing, the Hisels walked down Front Street near the Mississippi River, and spotted a "for sale" sign on an Italian Victorian residence built in 1874 by a riverboat captain, J.M. Turner.

They made an appointment to see the house at 291 N. Front St. in August, and bought it in December.

"We've always liked Lansing," Hisel said. "It's small, and the people are very friendly. With the river and bluffs, it's just beautiful here."

"I love the setting," Jeannine Hisel said. "And I like the more laid-back and relaxed atmosphere here. People take the time to sit and gab, and get to know their neighbors."
Big River Forge & Ironworks advertises its products on its Web site, www.bigriverforge.com .
The Hisels also operate another Web site, www.lansingiowa.com , and sell advertisements on it. That site provides information on the Lansing area.

-- WHAT: A business that makes metal art work and does steel fabricating work for businesses and individuals.
-- WHERE: At 80 S. Second St., in a building that was constructed in 1875.
-- WHO: The business is owned by Jay and Jeannine Hisel of Lansing.
-- MORE INFO: For more information, check the Web site  www.bigriverforge.com  or call (563) 419-1914.