Author Archives: stevetomlin

Ladderback chair heritage

I have received two interesting emails lately which add more detail about the background to the Castle Drogo and Jennie chairs. They tie in beautifully with discussions I’ve been having elsewhere on the web about crediting your craft references and … Continue reading

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A Gift of Spooncarving

Denise came and spent a day with me last week to learn to carve spoons. The day of one-to-one tuition was a Christmas present from her partner and so, after more than 2 months of anticipation, she was excited to … Continue reading

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QEST Scholar

The news arrived last night that I have been selected for my Queen Elizabeth Scholarship. I am very excited. It means I have the funding to spend 3 weeks in Sweden working and studying with Fritiof Runhall learning about greenwood carving, … Continue reading

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QEST interview for greenwood carving

Yesterday I was in London for an interview with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. The trust, which was established in 1990, gives funding to support practising craftspeople in gaining training or experience to further their careers. My scholarship, if I’m … Continue reading

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Jennie Chair frame complete

I’ve just finished assembling the frame for the Jennie Alexander side chair. I altered the rungs slightly, to give this chair the same seat size as my other dining chairs and put in just 4 rungs with different postitions. I … Continue reading

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Scythes in Scotland part 2

My second museum on the trip through Scotland was the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore. I’d spoken to Bob Powell, head of the museum, on the phone to book a visit and been impressed when he’d mentioned that he keeps … Continue reading

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2013 scythe courses filling up

My Learn to Scythe course in May is now full with places booking up on the June and September dates too. I’ve been getting steady interest since before Christmas and it’s a great indication that the interest in scything is … Continue reading

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Scythes in Scotland

On my way up to teach a ‘Learn to Scythe’ weekend at Forres last summer I took the opportunity to visit two museums on the way and see if I could find out more about the Scottish scythe. In 2011 … Continue reading

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Jennie's legs

Back to post-and-rung ladderback chairs this week, steam bending the back legs for a new design of chair. The ash was lovely to shave down with the drawknife and bent very easily after about an hour in my steamer. Actually, … Continue reading

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Carved spreaders

I’ve been making and selling wooden spreaders for 10 years. They’re lovely things to use in the kitchen and a perfect carving project for learning knife techniques for spooncarving. On my spooncarving courses we make a spreader together on the … Continue reading

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