Steel That Belongs in the High Desert — Custom Metal Furniture & Sculpture in Santa Fe
Furniture, sculpture, gates, and fire — designed with you, welded on Second Street, and finished in patinas that make sense next to adobe, sage, and a Santa Fe sky.
Half Forge, Half Sketchbook
Ferro & Sage started as one welder and one question: why does most metalwork ignore where it lives? Nine years on, the studio designs every piece for its actual place — the light it catches at seven in the evening, the adobe wall behind it, the wind that will swing the gate. We draw first, weld second, and patina until the piece looks like it grew here.
- ✓Every commission starts with sketches, not a catalog
- ✓Corten, brass, bronze & steel — patinated in-house
- ✓Built to live outdoors at 7,000 feet
- ✓One artist owns your piece from sketch to install
Pick a Thing — or Bring One We've Never Made
Six ways metal leaves this studio. Yours might be the seventh.
Pieces That Found Their Places
The Palette Is Metal
Three families of finish, patinated in-house — chosen for how they age, not just how they photograph.
Corten & Rust
The high-desert classic — a living rust skin that seals itself and deepens from orange to espresso over seasons.
Brass, Bronze & Patina
Heat and chemistry pull greens, browns, and golds out of the metal — no two pieces land the same, on purpose.
Blackened & Color
Hand-rubbed blackened steel for interiors, and powder coat when a piece wants turquoise, oxblood, or sky.
From Napkin Sketch to Install Day
Tell Us the Feeling
A photo of the space, a reference, a phrase — 'piñon branch in wind' has literally worked. We visit or video-call the site.
Sketches & a Number
You get two or three directions, a firm price, and a timeline. We revise until one sketch is obviously yours.
Weld, Shape, Patina
The piece is cut, formed, and welded on Second Street — with progress photos as the finish develops.
Install & Live With It
We deliver, set, anchor, and fuss over it until it sits right. Then it starts collecting compliments.
The Anchor Piece Your Design Is Missing
Half our commissions arrive through architects, landscape designers, and restaurateurs who need one piece to hold a space together — the gate that sets the tone, the fire bowl the whole courtyard turns toward, the light fixture guests ask about. We work from your drawings or make our own, hit install dates, and hand you a piece your client thinks you're a genius for.
- ✓Trade pricing for design professionals
- ✓Shop drawings & material samples before fabrication
- ✓Engineered anchoring for public & commercial installs
- ✓Install dates that hold — photographed handover
What Makes a Studio Piece Different
Designed for Its Place
Not a catalog object shipped anywhere — a piece drawn for your wall, your light, your wind, your seven-o'clock shadow.
Finished Like It Matters
Patinas developed in-house and sealed for 7,000-foot sun and snow. The finish is half the art — we treat it that way.
One Artist, Start to Finish
The person who sketched your piece welds it, patinas it, and installs it. Nothing is handed down a line.
Asked Over Studio Coffee
What does a commission cost?
Small pieces — sconces, side tables, garden markers — typically start in the mid-hundreds. Gates, dining tables, and fire features run into the low thousands depending on size and finish. You'll have a firm number at the sketch stage, before anything is cut.
How long does a piece take?
Most commissions run four to ten weeks from approved sketch to install, depending on the queue and the patina. If you need a date — a wedding, an opening — tell us first and we'll be straight about whether it's possible.
Can I be involved in the design?
That's the point. You'll see sketches, pick directions, and get progress photos as the piece takes shape. Some clients visit the studio at the patina stage to choose the finish in person — highly recommended.
Will it survive outdoors?
Yes — outdoor pieces are built for high-desert extremes: UV, snow load, freeze-thaw, and wind. Corten seals itself; other finishes get outdoor-rated sealers. We'll tell you exactly how each material ages.
Do you work with designers and architects?
Constantly — about half the studio's work is trade collaboration. We quote from your drawings, provide samples and shop drawings, and install on your schedule. Trade pricing applies.
Do you sell ready-made pieces?
A few — the studio usually has finished fire bowls, planters, and small sculptures ready to take home. Follow the studio letter or stop by Tue-Sat to see what's on the floor.
Tell Us What You're Dreaming Up
Two days to a reply, usually with questions and a first idea. Napkin sketches, Pinterest boards, and vague feelings all welcome.