Bernie LaForest has been creating fine metalwork for over 20 years. His passion for the craft and uncompromising attention to detail shows in each and every project.
Bernie started his journey in metal after transitioning from guiding climbing in the desert southwest, to moving to Salt Lake City in 1999. He later moved to the North Shore of Lake Tahoe in 2005, where he spent his first 5 years working with the Standtiener family at the Mountain Forge. In 2010 Bernie partnered up with best friend and young talent Jesse Bushey to create Striker Forge. These two built a successful and trusted business, establishing Striker Forge as the premier custom ironwork shop in the Tahoe basin.
LaForge Studio was created in 2018 and the shop moved a little over a year later from the north shore of Lake Tahoe to Foresthill Ca. While still primarily working on custom homes in the Tahoe region, Bernie has sent work to as far away places as Amman, Jordan. Be it sculptural, Architectural, or purely functional, LaForge Studio is here to help create what you envision.