Wood turner
I grew up on the Isle of Wight in the 1950's, and my father and uncle were potters and wood-workers. The town of Ventnor was a busy tourist magnet in the summer months, drawing thousands of visitors from all parts of the UK to enjoy the charms of Victorian Ventnor and it's sheltered micro-climate on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight.
My family owned a large gift shop, which was stocked with hand-made pottery and wooden gifts made in the workshops above the shop. The quieter winter months were spent making stock items for sale during the busy summer season, which ran from Easter to the end of September.
I developed an interest in pottery and wood-turning, but became more interested in woodwork, after going to grammar school and getting a thorough grounding in wood-turning, in the late 60's. After leaving school, an office based career in the insurance industry occupied my time for some 20+ years, followed by a long spell in hospitality, running pubs on the Isle of Wight, and a licenced restaurant in Rothesay, Isle of Bute until mid 2025.
The Covid shutdown in 2020, created an opportunity to go back to wood-turning, which has proved to be an absorbing and enjoyable change from making coffee and pouring wine in the restaurant!
Here's a set of photos of completed work & commissioned items.
Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger version & on the arrows to move forward and back through the images.