Oates, Cynthia. "E L Creative Profiles: Lee Badger is a HEAVY-METAL ARTIST." Elegant Living, Washington County at its Finest. [The Herald Mail Company, Hagerstown, MD] Summer, 2007: 27+.

Looking for a unique chair to tuck into a garden retreat? Or maybe a decorative iron table will give your ho-hum dining room the punch it needs?

Anvil Works in Hedgesville W. Va., might be a place you want to check.

Lee W. Badger, owner, has been plying his trade as an artist-blacksmith since the 1970's when he studied Fine Arts at the University of Colorado in Denver. During the 1980's he found his way east and eventually built the Anvil Works studio and metal workshop in Hedgesville.

This village of about 240 in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia provides easy access to industrial resources and transportation routes in a four-state area as well as to clients throughout the entire region, according to Badger.

While furniture is his bread and butter, Badger produces hand-forged interior and architecturalmetal work for design professionals and private patrons. Creations range from stair rails and furniture to lighting and fireplace accessories. But Badger says he "will consult and collaborate with homeowners and design professionals on materials, finishes and other specifications." Referals from clients are the best source of new commissions.

Badger says he "likes to be as versatile as possible, taking on interesting and unique projects, whatever they are."

Which probably accounts for the recently completed 34-foot high, 11-foot square clock tower that weighed in at 14 tons. It was a piece he constructed for a Chicago patron. Another example of his work that would be recognized locally is the sculptural centerpiece commissioned for the courtyard of Robinwood Medical Center in 2001.

Two of his original furniture designs recently won Best-in-Show in major regional competitions, and his sculpture is often featured in juried exhibitions. The list of his honors and awards is lengthy and distinguished. Badger and his works have been featured in Metropolitan Home, Better Homes and Gardens and House Beautiful magazines.

As a sculptor and furniture maker he is a member of The Furniture Society and International Sculpture Center. He belongs to national, regional and local blacksmith guilds and associations and attends design and metalworking workshops and conferences wherever his interests may lead.