Greenwood Working

Event information

About the workshop

This is a 1-day workshop where the participants will learn all the skills and history behind the dark art of greenwood working. A chance to let your creative juices flow as you try several new skills from witling to pole lathe turning this is a fun relaxed day for exploration into traditional wood crafts that cover lots of disciplines.

You will start with a log and using all hand tools and traditional techniques you will create unique products for you to take home and use, from spoons or spatulas to shrink pots or mallets. A fun day for all the family!

About the Tutor

Charles Ash is known for his unique, stylish furniture pieces, Charles selects only the most elegant lines from the trees he collects to bring a flow to his work which can only be found in nature. This symbiotic relationship he has with nature and the rolling Oxfordshire landscape in which he works is an ever-present inspiration.

It was after a successful career as a theatre set builder and enthused by his time working at the historical Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre that a love of hand tools and historical methods made Charles want to follow another path. This and a desire to make objects for people to cherish and use in their homes led Charles to a simpler, traditional and naturally more eco-friendly approach to furniture construction. He immediately set about learning the pre-industrial methods of not only the making of furniture by hand, which married seamlessly with his ideals of a greener way, but also the skills in selecting his timber from traditional native coppiced woodland. He travelled, meeting and working with some of the country’s leading greenwood workers, furniture makers and coppice workers as well as learning from wood workers around the world.

Charles is now using his expertise and passion to educate, through his workshops, demonstrations and lectures, that a simpler, healthier way doesn’t have to compromise design.

Tickets include all materials and lunch. Under 16s pay the full price and need to be accompanied by a paying adult.