QUALITY. I always struggled with the commissioning process. When it gets to that point where you hand the work over I never knew if the client really liked it. I think that is a self doubt many craftspeople feel. Several years ago I met a blacksmith who told me he never felt that doubt. In fact he knew what was best…
A new film of the work I made for my show at Haddon Hall inspired by the incredible medieval woodwork there. The film was commissioned by my friend and mentor Bill Amberg. Bill Amberg Studio @ Haddon Hall with Robin Wood from Bill Amberg Studio on Vimeo.
Tonight was the last in Julia Bradbury’s series of “walks with a view” and she led viewers around my home valley of Edale. On the way she stopped by the workshop and helped turn a bowl. You can see the program on ITV player here not sure how long it will be live for or if it is visible outside the…
Nearly three years ago I was visited by a lovely chap by the name of Rob Penn. He was fascinated by trees and was on an interesting journey. He had had an ash tree felled and was trying to get as many things as possible made from the one tree. He was planning a book and this week the book…
How can a maker rebel against the worst excesses of consumerism yet still make a living from making and selling stuff? This is a dilemma I struggle with. The Western world is too full of stuff, most of it produced in far off lands with working conditions and environmental practices we outlawed years ago. Most of it is designed to…
Enjoy this wonderful film of turning a set of small end grain bowls using a foot powered lathe in China. I have seen illustrations of this type of lathe before but not film of one in use. The cup chucks seem to have been the norm in the East whilst we in the West used mandrels and worked between centres. The…
In just over a months time I’ll be heading for the USA to teach at the amazing North House Folk School. I am teaching two three day courses which are already fully booked but also there is a full weekend of activities as part of the “Fresh Cut” conference. It promises to be an inspirational time with events running Friday…
So four months work are coming to fruition with the opening of my first ever show. This marks 20 years as a full time woodworker and it has been a very interesting process. Most interesting has been the challenge to create something new to fit in to an environment that I have admired for 25 years. To create a body…
Some exciting new bowls including replica Neolithic woodwork for Stone Henge Visitor Centre. Been too busy making and getting ready for SPOONFEST to update the blog but here are a few pics of new work. Three quaichs just finished, silver rims and sycamore bowls, perfect for the discerning whisky drinker.The first one went off in the post today. Next a…
You probably won’t have heard of Hole and Corner magazine yet, it is a new venture by a team of dedicated folk interested in things that are made better. They say “Hole & Corner is a magazine about people who spend more time doing than talking, for whom content is more important than style; people whose work is their life –…
