This is my virtual craft fair, an always-on, all year round selection of the more popular pieces of kitchenalia and applied craft work. I don’t have an e-commerce facility so please browse and use the email link at the foot of each page to contact me should you wish to buy any of my gorgeous gew-gaws. If you don’t see exactly what you want, contact me via the bottom-of-the-page link, I should be able to make your hearts desire to order. Though not world peace. Or a total end to climate change.
The ever-popular yarn bowl. this one is turned and carved from sycamore and is for illustration. Variations of timber are available.
Here’s some more, not currently in stock. these examples are turned and carved fromspalted beech. Spalting is a natural process that gives the timber a marbled appearance. I can make similar items from oak or other timbers such as sycamore. 16cm diameter and 8cm deep, waxed inside and out. £45.00 post free to the UK.
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Quaichs are traditional Scottish drinking vessels. Thought once to have been barber surgeons bleeding bowls, they have been adapted into gifts and trophies. iconic presentation objects, a distinctive Scottish alternative to the ubiquitous prize cup. Normally silver, pewter or occasionally gold, I have used the form to turn and carve in wood. These three are in spalted beech and have the Luckenbooth pattern lugs, a traditional pattern of linked hearts and baroque scrolls.
20cm across the lugs and 6cm deep, sealed internally and waxed externally. These are examples and have been sold. There is one similar currently in stock, priced at £125.00 post free in the UK.
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A miniature version of the quaich, a Dram Quaich. 10cm over the lugs and only 3cm deep, it accommodates about enough for a single dram, hence the name. Not too much water though. Turned and carved from spalted beech and finished with wax externally but only sealed inside. We wouldn’t want to taint the whisky. The lug pattern is the Triquetra. Although the Triquetra is not currently in stock, this pattern can be produced to order.
This version has an Infinity symbol in the lug. These little quiaches make excellent Best Man gifts for weddings. You might even, such is your generous spirit, wish to give one to each of the top table… Special prices for bulk orders on application. This lug pattern is Infinity.
Christmas is coming and the geese are getting - worried. It’s not too early to think about a tree - well maybe it is. But if you want to make this odd Christmastide really special, consider buying an heirloom to pass down the generations. I made this for my own grandchildren but the large Glasgow flat they lived in when the idea formed is but a memory. The cosy country cottage that is now their home lacks the space to deploy the group. It is a disappointment they never got to see it but their loss may be your gain. Carved in lime in the American folk style from a design by Master Carver Shaun Cipa, painted in rich glowing colours and with sheet copper details, this playfully reverent group just says “Christmas”. Oh, and the camel; I forgot the camel.
Comprising the Holy Family, three Wise Men, ox, ass, sheep, shepherds and sundry angels with a minimalist stable as a frame to unite the whole I ask £300.00 post free to the UK. Oh, and the camel; I forgot the camel.
With Christmas in mind and in the hopes that we will all be celebrating round the festive board, here are a few suggestions for the table:
A cheesebat: this one is made from cherry and has a grapes motif carved into the corner. It also has the word “Caise” (say “caash-e”) which I’m sure you know is the Gaelic word for cheese. I don’t know what the Gaelic word for grapes is. 25 x 18cm but could be made to any size you require, price adjusted accordingly; finished with food safe beeswax balm £28.00 post free to the UK. Not currently in stock but could be carved in oak for almost immediate delivery.
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More cheese-related items. You may have heard of the Mouseman furniture maker. If not Google him, he was a fascinating character. However, his trademark mouse, carved into every piece of work that left his workshop, has become a 20th century icon and much copied. Not to be outdone, I’ve copied his mouse shamelessly and often. Here’s an example:
Detail of the mouse-embellished handle
Serving suggestion; knife, grapes, veg nor even cheese included in the price which is £55.00 post free to the UK. Finished with food safe beeswax balm.
Out of interest, if this was a real Robert Thompson cheeseboard from the 1930s, it would set you back the thick end of £300. I’ve seen similar items with a 4-figure ticket. Just think what yours could be worth in just a few short generations…
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Keeeping with the subject of cheese, and why not? I have made a series of 20 x 15cm boards with various corner decorations. This one has a thistle motif: there are more, all priced at £20.00 post free to the UK and finished with food safe beeswax balm. See more examples below. Some are available from stock, some would require a few days to carve and finish. Please browse.
“Squeek” spalted beech board in stock
“Grapes” board, also spalted beech, in stock.
Oak “Squeek” board, in stock.
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And now for something not quite completely different…
What goes with cheese? Bread, of course. This breadboard was turned and carved for a newly wed couple earlier this year. It’s cherry, finished as always for food utensils with beeswax balm. 30cm in diameter and custom inscribed: £75.00
Custom wording requires payment in advance of work starting.
Another of the same, as the saying goes. Cherry, with a featured knot, artfully placed slightly off centre. The inscription, in Gael typeface, is "Bread nourishes the body and the soul" - in Gaelic. Carved as a stock item for a craft shop, it could be replicated for you in around two weeks from ordering. 30cm diameter in a Scottish hardwood and with the usual finish: £75.00
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In these days of Zoom, FaceTime and Skype there is great need for a holder for our devices - if for no other reason than to allow for the waving of hands and other gestures. I have made a few simple supports in oak or sycamore for just that purpose.These examples have their slots cut in various widths to accommodate phones or tablets of differing thickness. The slots are lined with leather to improve grip,
No. 1 is sycamore with a 10mm slot; No. 2 is pippy oak, 10mm slot; No,3 is oak, 18mm slot and 4 is also oak with a 15mm slot. You’ll note that No. 4 comfortably holds an iPhone XR in an Unbreakcable ® case. If your device needs a different width, let me know. All priced at an affordable £7.50 each, post free in UK.
