“Failure is not falling; it’s falling and not getting back up. Push yourself. Choosing to do something, even if it means I’m learning how to do it while I’m doing it has taken me from being a beginner to being a working man as a blacksmith. So don’t be afraid of what you feel. If you feel you can do something, you can do it. Everybody has an artistic side, somehow, somewhere in their souls.”
Jason Anderson was raised in Greenville, South Carolina. When Jason was a kid, he dabbled in every kind of medium possible. From clay, to sculpting, to drawing, and even skateboarding. In 1998 he moved to California to work for a fine furniture and cabinetry builder. After kicking around the western United States, he moved back to Greenville in 2006.
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The first time Jason tried blacksmithing, he fell in love and switched careers the next day. He had an addiction to alcohol, but put it down to put all his energy into his art. In 2013 Jason started learning blacksmithing from Ryan Calloway at Creative Iron Works in Greenville. After a few years of learning the trade, Jason started his own business in 2019 called JHA Works. The name is a double entendre of his initials and an acronym for “Just Hitting Anvils.”
Jason works with several types of metal and can incorporate other materials such as wood, leather and plastic. Some of his work can be seen in Greenville outside of Kuka Juice in the West Village, at Grateful Brew on Pleasantburg, and at the bar and music venue Gottrocks. He has also worked with local businesses such as In Site Designs and Bartron Builders.
JHA works is located at The Heddle at 1801 Rutherford Road and can be found online at JHA Works on Facebook or @jhaworksgvl on Instagram.
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