Ali Demirörs was born in 1951 in Gönyeli and has been living in Küçükkaymaklı for the past 60 years. He has one son, one daughter, and two grandchildren. He has been practising the craft of hot forged ironwork for 63 years.

At the age of only 11, his father sent him to work as an apprentice with master craftsman Abdurrahman Usta, whose shop was located on the corner of Deveciler Hanı in Nicosia. At that time, many children did not have the opportunity to attend school; instead, they were sent to masters to learn a craft and secure a profession. Ali Demirörs started working when he was still at an age when he should have been playing on the streets. He earned only 10 şilin (shillings) per week (the currency of that time), barely enough to buy anything for himself. He even worked on Saturdays until evening, and his master was known to be very strict. Yet these hardships allowed him to learn his craft with discipline and in great depth.

Ali Bey’s father famously told the master, “Eti senin, kemiği benim”—“His flesh is yours, his bones are mine”—meaning be as rough as you need to be with him, entrusting his son entirely to the traditional apprenticeship system. Ali worked as an apprentice for eight years. After completing his military service, he opened his own workshop and continued his profession independently.

To heat the iron, he uses a charcoal forge with a hand-operated bellows. He begins by lighting and heating the forge. The special type of charcoal he uses is sourced from Yayla village in Güzelyurt. Once the iron is heated until red-hot, he places it on the 'örs' /anvil and shapes it by hammering.

Using this method, he creates various items such as door hinges, handles for dowry chests, shutter espagnolette bars, traditional door fittings, and the iron sickles used today by folk dance groups.

Nowadays, he continues this craft not for financial gain but to spend time doing what he loves and to keep himself occupied. As one of the last remaining masters practising this craft on the island, he still receives a steady flow of orders from customers who value his work.