I can’t remember when I first heard of pulled fibre birch brooms, it may have been in Sweden at Taljfest or may have been through my friend Jarrod Dahl in USA who now makes them ocassionally. Whatever they are a wonderful green woodworking craft. I wonder who first pulled a few birch fibres in this way and worked out that…
North House Folk School is a very special place. I taught a course here last year and was delighted to be asked back to share my knowledge of bowlturning and take part in the fresh cut symposium. I was so busy teaching I don’t seem to have many photos so these are just a small selection with other more general…
Way back in June I documented the various stages of our birch bark canoe build, this is the final chapter. Ther last blog post had us fitting the gunwales and thwarts once that was done we had to fit the ribs. These are made from cleft and shaved cedar. Here is Jarrod working with the crooked knife to shave down the…
I was delighted to be asked to represent the UK at the International FolkCrafts expo in Gizhou province China. This was a celebration of global folk culture on a scale that is simply not imaginable in Europe. It was organised by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and The International Organisation of Folk Art IOV a very inspirational organisation. Such a contrast…
yesterday I picked up my new boots from William Lennon and son. Well I picked them up from Libs, William Lennon’s great grand daughter actually. I am really pleased with them. They feel a perfect match for my made in Wales Hiut jeans. Both are stiff and tough and will take a while to wear in but will then give…
For a long time it has been possible to buy clothing cheap and not know the true costs, by that I mean the thousands of Indian cotton farmers that have committed suicide in the last ten years or the thousand killed in the horrific Bangladesh factory collapse. Well there are alternatives. Today my new jeans arrived in the post and they were made…
Professor Trevor Marchand is fast becoming a hero of mine. Why? because he understands what he calls “the remarkable skilled knowledge of craftspeople” Now I posted a film of this guy a few days ago but this one is better, it gets better the further you get into it and the questions from 30 mins onwards are great too. Lots of…
This 10 minute film was made to celebrate the craft skills awards, it includes film from the finalists workshops with their insights into why they do what they do and what it means to work in craft. The awards judges (I was one) also add their thoughts, I think all together it gives a good overview of what it means to work…
I heard Trevor Marchant give this talk at a conference last year and it is fantastic in that it shows a serious academic with a genuine understanding and reverence for the skills involved in traditional crafts and how they are passed on from generation to generation in traditional cultures. I am delighted to discover that Trevor has been elevated to the position…
Look at these beauties that arrived int he post today. George Lailey was known as the last bowl turner. He worked at the small Berkshire village of Bucklebury and before Kate Middleton was probably the most famous person form the village. He made bowls up to his death in 1958. Lailey’s lathe and tools are on display at the Museum…
