What Our Clients Say

As a volunteer at my church, I was responsible for getting a baptismal ewer repaired. A year ago, a jeweler fixed it, but the repair didn't last and the cross on the lid came off again. This ewer is very important to the church because it has been there since 1956. I searched and searched and I felt that there had to be someone in the whole of Vancouver who could do this repair and then I found Donald's Innovations and Repairs on Google.

He was very methodical in examining the baptismal ewer to see if he could do the repairs before he accepted the job. He then kept in touch via e-mail

with photos of the progress he was making and the whole job was finished in one week. We are very satisfied with the finished product - it looks great and will now continue to be of service to the church for many years.

Thank you Donald.

Absolutely fantastic metalworking, attention to detail, and customer service. Donald restored a family heirloom meat slicer for us. Pricing was very fair, and communication was very consistent as Donald worked on our project. He also took great pride in giving our entire family a tour of his workshop, which is full of treasures and stories. Not many people like this around–this is as great as it gets!

Donald is a true artist and an outstanding human being. We came from out of town for a repair on a highly sentimental vintage metal sculpture that was badly damaged during shipping.

Donald gave us a very fair initial quote over the phone, did a thorough inspection of the sculpture in person, and walked us through the steps of what the repair would entail. We could tell immediately that our sculpture was in very good hands, and he went the extra mile by providing thoughtful photo updates during the repair process.

The whole process was faster than we expected (under a month), cost us what was initially quoted, and our sculpture was returned to us in even better condition than we could have hoped for. Donald even improved upon some earlier repairs that had been made to the sculpture.

He is a true master of his craft and puts great love and care into what he does. He also has some truly unique pieces for sale in his studio that are a marvel to see and would make great gifts or home decor pieces.

Thank you Donald!

Donald helped me repair a chair after the metal piece flattened. He gave me a really reasonable quote and timeline before getting to work. I found him honest, professional, friendly and easy to communicate with. I strongly recommend his service.

Donald designed and built a rolling, folding ramp that was lightweight and could handle 2000 lb. His designs were elegant. It works amazingly. He is both an “ideas” guy and a very skilled fabricator. Donald clearly loves his job. His work was flawless.

Exceptional service! I had to change my design a few times in order to keep the cost down. Donald responded to all my emails and requests in a friendly, helpful, and timely manner and he was able to get the frames completed in just a few days. His work is professional and flawless! Donald and his wife even delivered the frames on the weekend outside of their business hours so I could get them sooner. Highly recommend!

Learning from Donald was a sincere pleasure! He has a passion for the work he’s doing. Throughout the project, he worked closely with me, providing me with pictures of the work in progress and addressing my nit-picky feedback as we went along. That one-on-one interaction helped get me the end product I was hoping for. He even went so far as to take the time to teach me some things, such as how to use a tap to thread holes in aluminum so that I might screw things in securely. This was something he could have easily done himself, but he was happy and enthusiastic to show me the process, so I might leave his shop having learned something new. I look forward to working with Donald on future projects! (For more on fabrication, click here.)

My wife bought me a Blacksmithing lesson with Donald as a birthday present. Unsure of what this would entail, I was excited to try my hand at this after having watched a smith at a fair on PEI. Donald was an incredibly patient and capable teacher who not only taught me a number of interesting techniques but actually managed to awaken an artistic side of myself I hadn’t really ever experienced. As a unique and interesting present, I cannot over-endorse both Blacksmithing and Donald as a teacher. Great fun!

In January and February 2017, I had the good fortune to take a number of private lessons from Donald Dawson at his shop to help me with some metal sculptures I was working on.

I found the shop to be spotless and fully equipped with state of the art metal shop equipment and tools. I took about 10 classes honing my skills and techniques using a MIG welder, TIG welder, plasma cutting machine and much more. Donald was an excellent teacher –knowledgeable, patient, easy to learn from and both available and flexible with scheduling classes. I would encourage anyone looking to learn or improve their knowledge and skills in all aspects of metal work to take classes from Donald.

I can recommend Donald’s metal working class. During the evening that we worked on a forging and machining project, I got to experience Donald’s technical skill, creative thinking, and friendly co-operation.

We went from never having worked together, to seamlessly working together heating, hammering and adjusting a workpiece that required quick discussion and action. Donald’s communication and calm disposition made it a fun and effortless project.

I needed some fine threads cut on my project, and Donald machined them just the right size on the lathe.

Donald’s shop is organized and clean, and Donald ensured that I wore the proper safety gear.

Donald’s enthusiasm for metal working, his transparent way of working with the student, his deep skill set, and his agreeable disposition make it easy for me to recommend taking his class.

I took a weekend introductory course for the basics in welding and blacksmithing with Donald in January of 2017. When I was a kid I had seen my dad do some welding and blacksmithing on the ranch, and I hope to make a hobby farm in the future, so when I met Donald and heard he is a blacksmith and has his own shop in east Vancouver, I had the idea of learning the basic concepts and skills myself. He sent me some preparatory reading so I would know some basic info, most importantly safety, of course. The more I read and understood, the more questions I had, being a complete beginner. Donald loved all my questions and answered everything very well. I didn’t have any specific idea on a project to work on, so, since I work I pest control, he suggested a dragonfly.

Great idea. Once we went through an introduction to safety and the tools and basic techniques, I cut out and shaped the various body parts, and on the second day we welded them together, using special magnetic clamps to hold them in place. I had great fun, Drogon the Dragonfly looks happy. I might paint him metallic green later.

I highly recommend Donald as a creative blacksmith fabricator and as a patient and enthusiastic teacher.