The majority of clocks I have made have been on the small side, this keeps the cost of both timber and the movement more reasonable. It is not uncommon at shows to get enquiries about larger clocks particularly for wall hanging. I took the opportunity this Christmas of making my wife a larger clock albeit a standing unit. It features a 150mm skeleton movement and also a section of reclaimed Elm from the Ex FMC Working Butty - NB Fazeley. This has produced a 250mm / 12ins high .clock with pleasing lines. Even using more normal timber the material costs are somewhat higher. I am tending to make larger, more individual items now, that being the case a larger clock may well appear on our stand in the near future.
Yarn Bowls have always appealed to me, obviously useful, but can also be very attractive and tactile. My first attempt succeeded in all but size, it was too small to be useable with some of the thicker wool balls so common today. Based on discussions with those likely to find them usefull resulted with a starting bowl blank of 200mm Diam x 100mm thickness (8ins X 4ins). I was pleasanlly surprised to immediately sell the 2 new 200mm bowls and also the original 150mm bowl. I now need to get another one finished, I think one of the important selling tools with much of my work is to see and touch the finished item. The 2 larger bowls are made form Ash, the original smaller one is Mahogany
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All my life I have both worked and played to the best of my ability, you always want to see improvement in anything you do and you hope that time and experiance will will improve your skills. When I repeat items I have made previously my first thought is how can I improve on my original. This could just be improved skills to provide a more attractive item, or even a more basic design rethink. The pendulum clocks I made have sold well and it was time to make some more. Although they look very similar, if you put them side by side you are drawn to several changes, In my opinion I have now produced a far more competent item. I always hope that purchasers will see beyond the first visual effect and understand the timbers used and how they are put together.
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As previously mentioned, I enjoying working with other crafters to produce items that complement their products. It just so happened that three of my fellow crafters contacted me within 48 hrs to place orders. Ingrid - Potter required more pestles to go with her mortars, Teresa - Fused glass trainer required more stands, and Jo who markets her dog collars and accessories required 4 more display stands. Thankyou ladies for the orders.
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Based on one I made for my wife some years ago, this commision had to include Teak as the surround and I used spalted beech for the main panel. Thyis has already led to an order for a similar one
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As a special present for his wife this customer wanted a spice rack - but not the average rack. It had to be in Oak, jar sizes and space limits all specified. Interesting to make and was approved of by both the customer and more importantly his wife
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One of the things I admire about professional wood turners is their ability to turn identical items - I can manage "similar" and luckily, in this instance the customer was happy with that. These were to be distributed amongst the family in memory of a lost child. Originally four were required but in fact a fifth was added to the order on completion. They are made from a piece of Oak that was not suitable for much else than turning because of the faults in it. It did however work with these bud vases I think.
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We are lucky in Braunston to have a Community Cafe, this is entirely staffed by volunteers and all the profits are available for local people or groups to apply for grants. This has proved very sucessful and many of us contribute in different ways. I was asked about menu holders and was happy to produce these units. Each one is made from different timbers with a connection to the village 
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At the Air Ambulance event a gentleman enquired about having some Rams horns mounted. He fetched them back for me to see later, they were from a pet ram and were rather lived in. Time was needed to clean and prepare them but when mounted on some of our Heritage Elm the result met with the customers approval..
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Another case where crafters can join forces to compliment each others work. A friend of ours was a potter and lived in Braunston. She wanted some wooden pestles to go with the mortars she makes. Even though they have now moved away they have just collected this further order od 12 units. The timber used ia a mix of Beech and Sycamore all sourced locally
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We make needle cases but it seems there are needles somewhat longer than we were catering for. The customer wanted something to hold the longer needles, an improved version of our existing, and made from Heritage Wood. That chosen is Oak from the Keelson of an old horse drawn wooden boat. It was from the Yard at Braunston Bottom Lock and it would not be possible to identify the actual boat
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I had an enquiry about making a cake stand for a local group. No further interest was shown, but my interest had been arroused. I drew up a possible design and decided to make one up. It is made from our Heritage Wood, in this instance Elm reclaimed from Ex FMC working Boat Fazeley. It would not have been suitable for the initial customer but it was quickly bought by another customer. I am now making one for the original order
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This Boot Rack was made for a local Gentleman and is now in his new home in France. It is solid Oak, treated with Tung Oil which is waterproof
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These are stands for displaying fused glass panels. It was my pleasure to work with Teresa Cox who produces these gorgeous panels and also passes on her knowledge to others. Between us we came up with the design And these are the first of two batces made for her. The second picture shows one of her panels dispayed in one of the stands (picture by Teresa)
These are made from Oak and treated with Tung Oil to give a hard wearing finish |