Made by the Forge create the most beautiful, bespoke iron poles and they use real beeswax to preserve and protect the iron.

Juliet Fishenden (from Made by the Forge) shares with us her knowledge on beeswax and how it is made:

"Historically Beeswax has been used for thousands of years and has been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt, wrecked Viking ships and Roman ruins.

Beeswax is made by the worker bees by secreting wax from 8 special glands on the underside of their abdomens. The wax cools and solidifies and the bee collects the wax with her legs and manipulates and shapes it into the hexagon cells that make up the honeycomb. The beekeeper collects the honeycomb which then goes through a number of stages, honey extracted, comb heated, cooled and then moulded into the blocks we use.

It is a phenomenal natural miracle and incredible how such a tiny animal can make such an amazing product which has a multitude of uses.

It was discovered to be one of the first plastics ever used and traditionally applied to protect wrought iron before modern paint was invented. It was found to have the best coating ability to preserve and protect the iron. It is still the best natural way of finishing iron because it covers the iron effortlessly with a shimmery film leaving the grain beautifully raw and intact."

Written by Juliet Fishenden Made by the Forge

Thank you Juliet for sharing your knowledge on this subject.

Natural sheen, Cannon Ball curtain pole finished with beeswax

Made by the Forge makes high quality, hand-crafted ironwork that will last a lifetime. All poles are made to measure so a perfect fit for your windows is guaranteed. They are always happy to answer any questions and pride themselves on an efficient caring service. Call them on 01473 487118 or go to www.madebytheforge.co.uk.