I am a spoon carver and green-woodworker based in South-West England.

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Green-woodwork is the practice of working with fresh wood, rather than seasoned, and using the natural properties of the wood to dictate the end result.

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I started carving spoons in 2014 while working in conservation. I had bought a small axe to use on practical tasks like coppicing and hedge-laying and had recently been introduced to spoon carving by a friend. Through work, I had access to as much wood as I could carry so I bought a couple of carving knives and got whittling!

My first attempts were just about recognisable as spoons but I was already hooked and have been carving ever since!

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Still today, almost all of my wood is sustainably foraged from local conservation projects. I feel very privileged to be able to practice a craft in which I can source my own materials and see them from the rawest form, a tree, to the end product, a spoon in my kitchen!

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I use only four hand tools to collect and carve my spoons; a foldable saw, an axe, a straight-bladed carving knife and a crook knife for hollowing the spoon bowl.

By keeping these tools as sharp as possible and using good technique, I can leave a lovely smooth finish in the wood with facted tools marks that I like to think of as a lasting link between the spoon and its maker.