John Burrows for Wood Design.
“My kids can understand what I do, many people can’t even tell a layman in the street what it is they actually do … I make wooden bowls that people eat from, pretty simple really.”
Turning wood with a pole (foot-powered) lathe is a craft dating back 2000 years, and until the 1700s many ate off wood turned bowls.
Turnings ii, image courtesy of Wood Design
But this technique laid forgotten from the late 50′s until Robin Wood become fascinated by it, learning the techniques required not only to turn but to create the required tools.
Robin Wood, Turnings 1. Image courtesy of Wood Design
He is now the only man left in the UK making a living from the pole lathe; selling more than 30,000 plates and bowls over the past 20 years, making him a living time capsule. Read More