This is a follow up to my popular blog post on how to price craftwork. There I argued that context was everything and that price can not be separated from context. There is I think an idea in the craft world that things have some form of inherent value, some things unquestionably achieve higher prices or are in more demand. Often shortage…
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…
Whilst you may not have heard of a Tuatahi axe I imagine most folk that read my blog will be familiar with the sport of axe racing, if not this is what it looks like. Those are no ordinary axes, they are racing axes, set up with edges at very acute angles between 13 and 18 degrees, bear in mind…
Well 2016 has been an amazing year for us. We have made so many tools for other woodworkers, particularly axes and hook knives for spooncarvers. 2017 is going to start off well too. Today we finally got the tooling fitted to the old fly press I bought from the workshop of Trevor Ablett and Reg Cooper. A bit of old…
I am an environmentalist. I sincerely believe that our current consumerist society is trashing the earth and robbing our children and grandchildren of the inheritance that we had. They sadly will not inherit an earth in sound health ready to sustain life, fecund with healthy soil, stable climate, clean water and air. I have been a professional craftsperson for twenty…
A couple of weeks ago I was in the North of Scotland working at the Balvenie distillery, turning some quaichs at the launch of some very special whisky. Whilst there we took the time to visit some very special places. On the way up we just had to drive through Glen Quaich. I’ve been turning quaichs for over ten years…
Heritage branding is all the rage at moment, the marketing buzzwords are heritage, craft, hand made, authenticity but how many of the products behind these words are the real deal? Today I saw an absolute cracker. It seems Dulux are getting envious of Farrow and Ball‘s increasing share of the luxury paint market (Dulux after all was first coined in the…
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.
The best way to keep an axe sharp is to store it in a leather sheath when not in use. It’s fun to make your own axe sheath but many folk would rather buy one and concentrate on the woodworking. We have sourced some of the best vegetable tanned leather available made by Clayton’s one of the last traditional tanneries…
