What Three Creek Farm Inc does

Three Creek Farm Inc (operating as Three Creeks Farm) is a privately held, family-owned artisan farm located at 365 Peabody Road in Charlotte, Tennessee, approximately 45 minutes west of Nashville. Founded in 2005 by Steve Shafer, a retired teacher and blacksmith with over 20 years of forging experience, the farm operates as a small-scale working classroom teaching traditional arts and crafts including blacksmithing, cold and hot process soap making, herbalism, jewelry making, and fiber arts. Instruction is delivered in person on the farm, with class sizes capped at 4-5 students to maintain a hands-on, personalized format, and students leave with the items they make.

The business generates revenue from three primary streams: per-person class fees (typically $75 per 3-hour session, or $100 for adult/youth buddy pairs), sale of hand-forged ironwork and custom commissions (historic and address markers, decorative hooks, candle holders, hinges) sold at the farm and at regional craft fairs, and seasonal retail of heirloom tomato and super hot pepper seeds and seedlings. Distribution is conducted through on-farm classes, a WooCommerce online shop accepting PayPal and Stripe, an email newsletter that notifies subscribers when new class slots are posted, and live blacksmithing demonstrations at events across middle Tennessee and surrounding states.

The company has no outside funding, no parent entity, and operates with a small headcount centered on the Shafer family (Steve and his son Seth, who teaches soap making) plus occasional guest instructors. The business is bootstrapped, has been operating for over a decade, and maintains scheduled classes through at least 2026. There are no app, API, or AI/ML components in the technology stack.

Name

Three Creek Farm Inc

Legal name

Three Creeks Farm

Website

https://3creeksfarm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Three Creeks Farm is a family-owned artisan farm in Charlotte, Tennessee offering small-group (4-5 student) hands-on classes in blacksmithing, soap making, herbalism, and fiber arts, alongside sales of hand-forged ironwork and heirloom seeds to hobbyists and families across middle Tennessee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Class and Workshop Fees: Revenue from charging students for hands-on classes in blacksmithing, soap making, herbalism, and other traditional crafts. Classes range from 3 hours to full-day sessions with maximum 5 students per class.
2. Hand-Forged Ironwork Sales: Sale of hand-forged ironwork items including historic markers, decorative hooks, candle holders, and custom orders. Steve Shafer sells his blacksmithing work at events, craft fairs, and directly from the farm.
3. Custom Blacksmithing Orders: Custom blacksmithing work and projects including decorative pieces, hinges, and other custom ironwork commissioned by customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Three Creeks Farm is a small working farm and classroom in Charlotte, Tennessee, offering in-person, small-group (max 4-5 students) artisan classes in blacksmithing, soap making, herbalism, and fiber arts. The farm also sells hand-forged ironwork (including custom commissions) and heirloom tomato and super hot pepper seeds and seedlings. Customers register and pay for classes through the farm's online shop.

Product overview

Three Creeks Farm is a small educational farm in middle Tennessee offering in-person classes and workshops in traditional arts and crafts. The core offerings are blacksmithing classes (Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, plus specialty topics like knife making and tong making) and soap making classes (Beginning, Intermediate, and specialized Soap Projects covering shaving soap, dish soap, and pine tar soap). The farm also offers Practical Herbalism classes covering medicinal herb identification, preparation, and use. In addition to educational services, the farm sells hand-forged ironwork items (historic markers, address markers, custom pieces) and grows heirloom tomato and super hot pepper plants with seeds and seedlings available for sale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blacksmithing Classes Hands-on blacksmithing classes for adult and youth students covering Beginning Blacksmithing (history, tools, basic techniques such as drawing out, twisting, cutting, shaping), Intermediate Blacksmithing (splitting and shaping, forging fire pokers and heart hooks), Advanced Blacksmithing (decorative functional items like leaves, garden ornaments, candle holders), and specialty classes including Knife Making, Tongs Making, and Forging a Kitchen Pot Rack or Key Holder. Classes are capped at 4-5 students and priced at $75 per person for 3-hour sessions, with youth and adult/youth buddy classes available.
• Soap Making Classes Instruction in cold process and hot process soap making methods. Beginning Soap Making covers basics, safety with lye, and making 1 lb batches with students taking home a reusable silicone mold. Intermediate Soap Making includes goat milk soap, crock pot methods, larger 5 lb batches, exfoliating salt bars, colorants, and additives. Soap Projects class covers shaving soap, dish soap, and pine tar soap. Classes are priced at $75 per person with a maximum of 5 students.
• Practical Herbalism Classes Exploration of medicinal herbs including calendula, dandelion, broadleaf plantain, yarrow, elderberry, and mullein. Students learn picking, preparation, processing, storage, tea making, tinctures, extracts, and infused oils for soaps, salves, and lotions. Class priced at $75 per person for 3-hour sessions.
• Hand-Forged Ironwork and Custom Orders Steve Shafer sells hand-forged ironwork items including historic markers used by small towns, address markers, decorative and functional colonial period ironwork, hinges, and custom blacksmithing projects. Sold at events, craft fairs, historic sites, and directly from the farm, with custom commissions accepted.
• Heirloom Tomato Seeds and Seedlings Tennessee heirloom tomato varieties including Tennessee Britches, Spear's Tennessee Green, Tennessee Heirloom, Aunt Ruby's German Green, and Tennessee Yellow Cherry. Seeds and seedlings are sold from the farm.
• Super Hot Pepper Seeds and Seedlings Super hot pepper varieties including Carolina Reaper, Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia), Sugar Rush Peach, Bahamian Goat Pepper, and Kalugeritsa, grown and sold as seeds and seedlings from the farm.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Crucible: Oakland, CA industrial arts education center offering classes in blacksmithing, forging, welding, and other traditional crafts, plus a fabrication studio producing custom work. Comparable in craft-education-plus-product model, though at significantly larger urban scale.
• Peters Valley School of Craft: Craft school in Layton, NJ offering hands-on workshops in blacksmithing, metalsmithing, and fiber/textile arts in a rural setting. Comparable as a small, rural, craft-focused educational business.
• Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Tennessee-based craft education center in Gatlinburg offering workshops in blacksmithing, metals, fiber, and other traditional arts. Directly comparable because of its Tennessee location and overlapping curriculum in metalwork and artisan crafts.
• John C. Campbell Folk School: Residential folk school in Brasstown, NC offering hands-on week-long and weekend classes in blacksmithing, soap making, fiber arts, and other traditional crafts. Closest direct comparable as a multi-craft, in-person, hands-on teaching model set in a rural farm-like setting.
• Penland School of Craft: Resident craft school in Penland, NC offering short workshops in blacksmithing, metalwork, and other traditional and contemporary crafts. Highly comparable model: small immersive classes, expert instructors, rural mountain setting.
• The Steel Yard: Providence, RI industrial arts nonprofit offering blacksmithing and metalwork classes plus a community forge and custom ironwork fabrication. Comparable in core offering (blacksmithing instruction + custom ironwork) though urban and nonprofit in structure.
• Haystack Mountain School of Crafts: Resident craft school in Deer Isle, ME offering immersive two-week workshops across multiple craft media including blacksmithing and fiber arts. Comparable as a small, expert-led, multi-craft educational retreat.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/three-creek-farm-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Three Creek Farm Inc