Michigan blacksmith combines candy & craftsmanship in unique business

Meet Randy Haas, a professional blacksmith who has combined his skills and love of sweets into a brand-new candy-making business, where he’s known as “The Sugarsmith.”

What do the art of blacksmith work and candy craftsmanship have in common? Well, if you ask Randy Haas, a professional blacksmith and owner of The Sugarsmith Candy Shop in Marlette, Michigan, they have a lot in common.

From getting the timing and temperature just right to incorporating patterns and textures, Haas believes the blacksmith techniques he’s honed have carried over perfectly into the candy-making world.

“The most interesting similarity is that imagination is really the main limitation to coming up with new patterns, or flavors,” Hass comments. “The obvious similarities are that both are handmade and the burns!”

Combining the similarities of his two crafts into one passion, Hass now owns and operates The Sugarsmith Candy Shop as a family business where it’s all hands—and sweet treats—on deck.

From steel to sugar

Haas explains that he got his start in a specialized form of blacksmithing 16 years ago, when his father gave him a chance to start making Damascus steel for him. Haas’ father, a custom knife maker, needed the Damascus steel to forge a unique metal for his knives.

“This is a product that uses similar steels that react differently in the acid used to reveal the pattern, to create interesting patterns in the steel,” Haas explains. “The steels are forge-welded together and then manipulated in different ways to create patterns. The only limitation to the pattern possibilities is your imagination.” (Sound familiar?)

Haas learned the trade of making Damascus steel and says that both his father and “many other craftsmen” have been using the steel ever since. Along with the different patterns of Damascus steel Haas provides for his father’s custom knives, he also offers his special steel to other knifemakers, watchmakers, jewelers, penmakers, and other craftsmen of all kinds.

Knowing his passion for intricate and specialized work, Haas says his wife, Brianna, is the one who first sparked the idea to forge into candy making. After watching a video on one of his special interests, glass blowing, Brianna mentioned that she had recently seen a similar technique for hard candy.

“We watched a few of those, and the light bulb turned on,” Haas remembers. “I would have to buy specialized tools to make glass, but I had sugar in the kitchen. I made my first batch of candy that day and was instantly hooked.”

Blacksmith and business owner

After making his first batch of candy at the end of 2024, Haas did not waste any time getting his new venture up and running. By early 2025, the Sugarsmith Candy Shop Facebook page was up and running, and by the summer, the family was attending farmers’ markets as cottage food vendors.

Haas aptly coined the name “Sugarsmith” in reference to his profession as a blacksmith and, just as he does with steel, melded the two pieces together to create something special and unique. “We asked a few friends about it, and they all loved it, so it was decided,” he describes.

Thanks to what Haas dubs “tremendous local support,” the family was able to transition to a licensed kitchen in October, allowing their candy to be ordered and shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states.

“God willing, we would love to have a brick-and-mortar location in the future,” Haas notes, adding: “You might even see some on the shelves of local stores in the Thumb area!”

The intricacy of candy making might be Haas’s passion, but the entire family is involved in the business. Haas makes the candy, his wife handles packaging, inventory, and order fulfillment, and even the couple’s three young children, who range in ages from two to eight years old, play a role.

“They are all learning different parts of the business, but they’re primarily our executive taste testers!” Haas quips.

Sweet Rewards

Along with the opportunity to have his whole family involved in a family business, Haas shares that he relishes the chance to “bring back” old-fashioned candy that folks may have enjoyed in the past.

“Getting to hear the stories about who used to make it for them and what it reminds them of is really special,” he points out.

The Sugarsmith Candy Shop specializes in small-batch, traditionally-crafted handmade candy, with some of their most popular varieties being:

• Brittles
• Caramels
• Chocolate potato chip bark
• Marshmallows
• Lollipops

Haas says his personal favorite candies to make are old-fashioned hard candy pillows, image candy, and fudge. Image candy, in case you were wondering, is hard candy constructed with a picture inside, running through the entire piece of candy.

“Making the patterns on or in the hard candy reminds me the most of the techniques used in making patterns in steel,” he comments. “Plus, making the fudge is just plain fun!”

As for his favorite candy to take home for himself, Haas says it’s a “four-way tie” between the hard candies, potato chip bark, fudge, and their chocolate-covered cream centers. (This is where I brag to the dearest gentle readers that I happen to live within driving distance of the Sugarsmith Candy home base, so I will be sampling some of their goodies soon. You know, for research.)

For new customers or anyone looking to give a special gift, Haas recommends considering their monthly subscription candy box (psst: it’s only $25!), which allows recipients to review a new batch of homemade candy every month, all year long. The shop also takes custom orders for any occasion.

While Haas and his family have been enjoying their new business venture, he does note that, as with all things business, there have been challenges. For him, the upfront investment cost as well as the learning curve of how to best make and present the products, in combination with managing his time with a second job, have been some of the biggest hurdles.

Still, Haas is pleased with his new role as a “sugarsmith.” He and his wife say they have been “blown away” by the support they have received from their small town of Marlette and the surrounding communities. “We are thankful for every order, gift, or event that they are trusting us to help make it something special,” Haas says.

To order from The Sugarsmith Candy shop, visit them online or on Facebook.