“Every big job I get brings both excitement and anxiety,” explains Randy LeBlanc. “There’s an equal combination of loving the challenge, and fear that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. “I know myself,” he adds. “I love that quote Do Good Work. While I do take risks, it’s always with integrity. I always finished the job… it’s not the clients’ fault it was harder or took longer. It comes down to having values.” LeBlanc is an award-winning blacksmith from Lafayette, Louisiana. He is the owner of Metal Head, Inc. The values, instilled in his foundation from different sources, have led the him to where he is today... a happy, healthy family man doing what he loves to do.
“I was a ‘Maker’ before ‘Maker’ was term,” explains LeBlanc. “I’ve always been a doer. I was in gifted programs and all that when I was young, but I was a marginal student at best. “I was in college working in industrial design,” LeBlanc says. “I took a class called Hands On Steel with Eddie Cazayoux. That’s where it started… It was like a high-end shop class, and I loved it.” Cazayoux is a legend in local architecture circles. He served as the director of the School of Architecture at the University of Louisiana for 13 years. He taught architecture for over 30 years.
LeBlanc attended St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette. While STM provided a solid foundation of education and character, there was no ‘shop’ class. There were no ‘industrial arts’ offered. The artistic vision required to work with metal attracted him. The tradesman’s skill and the strength required led him to a
passion he was unable to escape. “I loved woodwork, and I still do, but metal spoke to me,” clarifies LeBlanc. “With metal I can make something beautiful, something useful and functional.”
LeBlanc spent six years in the Louisiana National Guard. He’s inspired a lot of people along his journey to where he is today. “Randy and I served together in the Guard. We attended USL at the same time,” says Lafayette resident Steve Schollian. “He’s a very talented guy, his creativity is natural… like a fish to water. I wish I had half of his abilities.
“You can’t help but like the guy,” adds Schollian. “He’s never met a stranger. One of the random things I remember about him is that he has an amazing ability to mimic the sound of a cricket. Another thing he did when we were in college he cut the roof off his car to make it a convertible.”
“I loved woodwork, and I still do, but metal spoke to me,” clarifies LeBlanc. “With metal I can make something beautiful, something useful and functional.”
LeBlanc, who never actually took any welding classes, finished college in Sculpture. He loves, admires, and identifies with the historical role of the village blacksmith. He’s not offended when he’s called an artist. He values both form and function and drives all his work toward accuracy and consistency.
Recently, a big job materialized. Bendel Gardens is one of Lafayette’s most established and revered neighborhoods. Developed on the old Bendel Estate, it had a massive ornate iron gate entrance. The owners discarded the gates when the city paved the streets to the neighborhood. The gates resurfaced recently and were road weary with missing parts. In 2020, a prominent local resident who grew up in the neighborhood acquired the gates. He wanted to recreate the original entrance at his home in Lafayette. He wanted the gates restored to their original state.
His contractor said that there was only one metal shop in the state who could pull of the job. The shop in question being Metal Head Incorporated [LeBlanc’s business in Lafayette]. But the owner, who usually loves a challenge, turned it down. “The sheer weight and scale of the gates looked like too big of a challenge,” remembers LeBlanc. “I had restored the gates at the University of Louisiana Alumni Center. They were similar in age, and I knew how much work it would be.
“I was confident that I could forge the missing portions,” adds LeBlanc. “But it would have been a solo mission and the gates weighed over 1800 pounds per leaf. I had no idea how I was going to able to move them around all by myself.” The contractor returned and asked a second time, and LeBlanc turned it down again.
The contractor’s third request involved the gates’ delivery to LeBlanc’s shop. LeBlanc felt like refusal was not an option. And he finally agreed to tackle the project. While this job came with some excitement… it also came with a giant dose of anxiety.
“It needed to be as historically accurate as possible,” explains LeBlanc. “The scale was huge – the simple act of moving them was a big deal. The client was sparing no expense, and being a Lafayette history nerd, I couldn’t resist. It was important to both the client and I that we got everything ‘perfect,’ and we got it as close as possible. I am happy with the result, and so is the client.”
LeBlanc completed the project in about 8 months. Completion came in the Spring of 2021. The mission culminated Metal
Head Inc.’s 20 years in business. To this date, it is LeBlanc’s biggest and most favorite job.
“I can’t help myself,” laughs the ever-smiling LeBlanc. “When I drive by something I’ve done… I have to point it out. My family always reminds me that I’ve already told them. Those jobs are all a constant reminder that I’m doing something I love, and I’m proud of my work.”
With regard to being a craftsman and true to his trade, LeBlanc is open to both the old ways as well as new technology. “I’d give myself a C+ as far as adopting new technology,” says LeBlanc. “I use AutoCAD, I have a plotter, and I use lasers and stuff, but I weld on a giant 150-year-old anvil that isn’t made anymore.
“I run into old timers who insist on doing everything the ‘old’ way, and I respect that,” inserts LeBlanc. “I’m a perfectionist. I love that I can measure, design, print and line up
a project directly on the material. I appreciate that everything lines up, everytime.”
LeBlanc admits he doesn’t know how blacksmiths did it long ago. It’s impressive that amazing, consistent projects completed without the help of modern tools. Technology is
available and it works. LeBlanc convinced that old world blacksmiths would have enthusiastically embraced today’s technology. “They were the laziest people in the community if you think about it,” theorizes LeBlanc. “They were always looking for ways to make things easier… they were inventors.”
LeBlanc’s business is thriving, and he’s closing in on a quarter century. He feels blessed to be able to love what he does. The pride and passion he puts into and receives from his work isn’t his whole life. He recently brought in an employee who shares his passion for working with metal. That new employee is a Cazayoux. He is the grandson of the instructor who introduced LeBlanc to his passion back in the late 1900s. “As far as my business goes, I don’t have a plan for tomorrow,” admits LeBlanc. “I’m like a rudderless ship, and I’m okay with that.
“Seeing a fellow artisan approach metal with the same passion as me has helped. I can at least think about the future now,” Leblanc says. “My wife (Monique) is the reason my
business is profitable. She helps me focus on the whole ‘artisan versus business owner’ struggle inside my head.” The LeBlanc’s have two very talented daughters, Cadence (18) and Josie (16). And Randy knows it’s time to consider his next chapter.
“I know what I need to do,” explains LeBlanc. “I need to grow the business. I need to support a few metal artisans like myself, and that’s going to take time… I know I can’t do
what I do forever. I’d love to move into more of a teaching role.”
LeBlanc wants to pass on his experience and passion. He finds nothing noble in leaving this world having kept knowledge all to himself. Styles, materials, and technologies
have changed over the years. Building a team to keep it going for at least the next 25 years is likely the plan.