Over the last week or two I have been snapping meals before eating. All done under artificial light quick snaps but hopefully give an idea of what it’s like living with wooden tableware. One big difference is the sound, no harsh scratching of metal on porcelain and a lovely woody noise as you set the table. Wood does also keep…
Just a few snap from last weeks bowl carving course. Some nice bowls and a really nice bunch of folk. We don’t normally carve round bowls since it involves a lot of cutting across end grain but this time everyone wanted to try. It was hard work and a lot of hands were worn through but the results were good.…
As the only person working in a craft medium to be taken seriously by the art world and having won the Turner Prize Grayson Perry is often outspoken, entertaining and thought provoking. He famously said the Art world found it easier to accept the fact that he was a transvestite than that he made pots. He wrote a well argued…
Just wanted to share a few nice film shorts I have seen recently, they are all loosely about craft and manufacturing with passion but also they are good examples of the craft of filmaking. A pair of nutty chocolate makers, I love the idea of sailing the beans[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/13664547 w=400&h=225] Running shoes made in England, I thought all this sort…
What do professional spooncarvers do for fun? This is Fritiof Runhall one of the very few professional spooncarvers in Sweden. In between teaching 2 masterclasses in Edale we had a few days off with glorious weather. First priority was getting up the hill to enjoy the scenery. This was 1st of October and it was hot enough to swim in…
Thank you Fritiof Runhall and my merry band of spooncarving students for a wonderful couple of weeks. For Fritiof’s second course we again had some of the best carvers in the country. Here are Steve Tomlin and Barn the spoon chatting about the finer elements of spoon design. One of the things that was nice about Fritiof was that he…
The all Part Parliamentary Manufacturing Group is an initiative of Vince Cable to highlight the great manufacturing that still goes on in the UK. Each MP is asked to recommend local manufacturers that we can be proud of.I am delighted that my MP Andrew Bingham has recommended not only myself but fellow craft business Hill and Sons riddle and sieve-makers.…
This is one of my favourite Heritage sites. Located in the South Cumbria it is the last bobbin mill surviving with all it’s original machinery. I have visited several times and taken the tour, watching the turning machines peeling rough coppice roundwood down to round bobbins in second is a bit like watching a toilet roll unwinding at speed, just…
Fritiof Runhall is one of Sweden’s best spooncarvers, which also probably makes him one of the best spooncarvers in the world. It has been a real pleasure then to learn from him as he came to teach a masterclass course for us in Edale. I feel spooncarving in the UK has come a long way in the last 5 years…
Meet Fritiof Runhall one of Sweden’s best spooncarvers. Sweden is known amongst green woodworkers for spooncarving largely through the writing of Wille Sundqvist and teaching of his son Jogge. There are very few professional spooncarvers though and Fritiof is one of the best. Here is some of his work. salad servers The top eating spoon is made from spruce and…
