Robin Wood is an internationally respected woodturner and spooncarver. He was introduced to traditional woodland crafts whilst working as a National Trust forester clearing and replanting woodlands in Kent after the 1987 storm.
He found turning bowls and carving spoons to be the perfect way to learn about the qualities of the different trees timbers and at the same time produce something beautiful and useful for the kitchen.
Robin gave up the forestry job in 1995 to become a full time woodworker specialising in making bowls on a foot powered lathe, recreating the Medieval craft which had died out with the last practitioner George Lailey in 1958.
Over the next ten years he travelled widely across Europe: learning from traditional turners and carvers in Romania; studying Medieval wooden bowls and spoons from archaeological sites in Russia, Germany, France and Belgium; as well as working with UK archaeologists on major collections such as the Mary Rose. In 2005 he published the definitive book on the history of the wooden bowl.
Perhaps most influential of recent travels has been time spent travelling in Sweden and Norway: visiting museums, learning skills from other craftspeople and teaching at the National Folkcraft School at Sätergläntan.
Inspired by the Scandinavian tradition, Robin has now started teaching the skills of axe and knife work at home. Carving in this way is a very accessible hobby: the tools are reasonably-priced, the raw material is everywhere, and there is no need for a dedicated workspace.
