Category Archives: Woodenware
Why I Don’t Sign My Spoons
A lot of spoon carvers put their name, initials, or a maker’s mark on each spoon they make. I don’t. Here’s why. First, signing each piece would add time to the production process without adding monetary value. I know that … Continue reading
Want to Carve Spoons? Use a Template
On a spoon-carving forum I read, the question of templates comes up frequently. A lot of spoon carvers say they “just wing it,” or as others put it, “just see what the wood wants to be.” Now, there’s no question … Continue reading
Trash –> Treasure, or New Spoons from Old Furniture
When I sell my spoons and spatulas at craft markets, people always ask me, “Where do you get the wood?” I often laugh because, truth be told, practically ever piece of wood has a story behind it. More often than … Continue reading
My Love-Hate Relationship with Spoon Carving Templates
I don’t remember exactly when I began to use templates to lay out my wooden spoons and spatulas, but after I had made my first dozen or so wooden spoons, I hit upon a couple of spoon shapes that just … Continue reading
Hotel Spoon Carving
I travel for work once or twice a year. This summer it’s a week-long stay in a hotel, and I have evenings pretty much to myself. In such situations, I never want to be without my spoon carving tools and … Continue reading
From an Old Drawer to New Spatulas
People ask me where I get my wood for the spoons and spatulas I make. The truth is, I find it. Most of the time I salvage limbs and logs from downed trees, but sometimes I find wood in more … Continue reading
The Evolution of a Display Table
What do you do when you start making more spoons than you can sell or give away? You start selling them. But not just anybody will pay $10 or $15 for a hand-carved spoon. You have to get them in … Continue reading
How to Ship a Wooden Spoon
If you sell your woodwork online at all, there’s a little challenge that you probably didn’t think about until you sold your first item: how to package it for shipping. And if you’ve ever received an item in the mail … Continue reading
Spoon Carving on the Road
I do a lot of traveling each summer. In the past, I often had to leave my woodworking behind because, well, it’s hard to fit a tool chest and a workbench into the back of the minivan along with all … Continue reading
Teaching Spoon Making in Austin, TX
This coming weekend I will be teaching a class on making wooden spoons for the ROADS Workshops in Austin, Texas. It’s going to be a little different from your usual woodworking class, though. ROADS Workshops are a part of Mobile … Continue reading
