Steve Tomlin Crafts

There are times when you want to have your own craft course on a 1-to-1 basis.
Whether you’ve a specific element you want to cover in depth, get individual tuition and attention, set the date to fit yourself or learn something that noone else seems to teach,  a bespoke experience can fit the bill where other courses miss.
Last week I had the pleasure of running three of 1-to-1 spoon carving workshops for different folk at my workshop in Sprint Mill near Kendal, Cumbria.
Although Mike, Malcolm and Charlie had come for different reasons they all wanted to spend their time learning more about carving wooden spoons. Over the past 5 years or so I’ve seen spoon carving really take off in popularity which is fantastic as it’s a wonderful introduction to working with wood, a great way to learn to use simple tools and the possibilities of design are endless. I’ve been carving since 2000 and teaching since 2006, increasingly offering opportunities for improvers to develop their skills at events like Spoonfest alongside my regular spoon carving courses.
All three had some previous experience but were wanting to get a proper understanding of how to carve so we started with some axe and knife techniques on practise blanks. I think everyone can benefit from going back to basics and spending time just making cuts for practise without thinking of making something. That way you can be more daring and positive in your motions since there’s no fear of ‘getting it wrong’ and your whole focus is on technique rather than the spoon. Mike in particular was impressed with how far it’s possible to carve a spoon using just the axe, making the knifework much easier. He has a house and woodland in France but comes over to see his beloved Liverpool FC play so tied in two days of spoon and some fan bird carving with the trip.

Malcolm’s day was a suprise early Christmas present while Charlie was in the area on holiday and decided last minute to fit in some spoon carving while she was in the Lake District. I really liked how she had thought about and made notes on what she wanted to learn to get the most out of the day.
All three made brilliant progress and we covered masses of ground including species selection, sharpening, eating spoon design, finishing without sandpaper along with some great chats by the fire and a not-to-be-missed tour of Sprint Mill itself.

Individual tuition is available throughout the year and isn’t limited to spoon carving. Maybe you’d like to build a traditional shavehorse, learn about paint making, chip carving and other decorative techniques, make fan birds, a wooden hay rake or something else of your own choosing. Contact me by email to discuss your project and book a date.