Black Isle Bronze Ltd
4A Balmakeith Business Park, Nairn IV12 5QR Tel: 01667 455172
www.blackislebronze.co.uk
Most of us who have visited Inverness have seen the work of Black Isle Bronze without realising it – the Mercat Cross in Falcon Square with it’s beautiful birds and sundials calibrated to Inverness’s latitude and the bronze figure in the centre of the Eastgate Centre.
Black Isle Bronze Ltd is a family business – originally started at Kinkell, hence the Black Isle name, but now employing 8 people and based at the Balmakeith Industrial Estate in Nairn. Farquhar Laing’s Father was a sculptor which sparked his interest. Farquhar did an apprenticeship down south and then worked at a foundry in London. Luck smiled on him and he got a large contract enabling him to leave the foundry and go straight into business on his own.
Black Isle Bronze Ltd is the largest bronze foundry north of Birmingham and the largest bronze foundry in the whole of Scotland able to melt ¼ tonnes of bronze at a time. Whilst labour and overhead costs may be lower in the Highlands these are offset by the cost of shipping – no small amount when figures can weigh 5 tonnes! Black Isle Bronze specialises in one off commissions and recently completed their biggest commission to date which was casting a sculpture by artist Gerald Laing. This 5 tonne piece shows a rugby line out and it stands at 27’ tall outside Twickenham.
4A Balmakeith Business Park, Nairn IV12 5QR Tel: 01667 455172
www.blackislebronze.co.uk
Most of us who have visited Inverness have seen the work of Black Isle Bronze without realising it – the Mercat Cross in Falcon Square with it’s beautiful birds and sundials calibrated to Inverness’s latitude and the bronze figure in the centre of the Eastgate Centre.
Black Isle Bronze Ltd is a family business – originally started at Kinkell, hence the Black Isle name, but now employing 8 people and based at the Balmakeith Industrial Estate in Nairn. Farquhar Laing’s Father was a sculptor which sparked his interest. Farquhar did an apprenticeship down south and then worked at a foundry in London. Luck smiled on him and he got a large contract enabling him to leave the foundry and go straight into business on his own.
Black Isle Bronze Ltd is the largest bronze foundry north of Birmingham and the largest bronze foundry in the whole of Scotland able to melt ¼ tonnes of bronze at a time. Whilst labour and overhead costs may be lower in the Highlands these are offset by the cost of shipping – no small amount when figures can weigh 5 tonnes! Black Isle Bronze specialises in one off commissions and recently completed their biggest commission to date which was casting a sculpture by artist Gerald Laing. This 5 tonne piece shows a rugby line out and it stands at 27’ tall outside Twickenham.
Current projects include a commission for the Duke of Northumberland – a figure which will be displayed in Alnwick town centre. . A more whimsical piece is the Owl and the Pussycat figures which will be delivered to a private client in Antigua. This sculpture is very detailed and both figures are in a life size bronze boat complete with a bronze sail. As with much of their pieces all the parts are cast individually and then welded together and finished by hand. A modern sculpture of a human figure sits in the office waiting to be shipped to another private client in Monaco.
Black Isle Bronze Ltd uses wax moulding for the high definition work that it does and casts a full size figure in 2 or 3 pieces for example. They have recently invested in a sand moulding machine. A large hopper holds up to 8 tonnes of sand and these are used to cast pieces with less complex designs. The sand is then reused for the next piece.
Everything Black Isle Bronze Ltd produces is to a customer design. Not only do they do architectural and heritage pieces but they also do simpler items such a map of the Somme battlefield which Farquhars’ family participated in. A copy of this map hangs at their premises.
Farquhar is very appreciative of the help and assistance of HIE who have helped him grow and continue to do so. He is also very appreciative of his wife who looks after their family allowing him to concentrate on his business although he admits juggling things is still testing at times.
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