As usual, Im a bit slow with posting this news. 10 Years ago as of October (ish) I finished my MA in Exeter, moved out to Dartmoor and set myself up as a knife and tool maker :) I had no tools, no home, no money (having spent my saving on the masters degree the previous year). What I did have was good fortune and some good new friends who looked after me. During the MA I was taught to weave baskets by a lovely lady named Linda Lemieux. Linda has a craft shop in Chagford (Wood and Rush woodandrush.net/) and I popped in to say hello one day whilst I was finishing off the MA. We got chatting about what I was planning to do when my studies had finished. A pie in the sky idea was to make knives and tools (it was a hobby of mine). She introduced me to her partner Pete (an endearingly mad Aussie wood turner) and we hit it off. Come the autumn I moved into a yurt in their back garden, shared a workshop with Pete (using his tools to begin with) and exchanged labour for rent. Obviously I needed money, so I got a part time job in a local harware store until the new year when I realised that I didnt have enough time to devout to a part time job whilst trying to start a business. The job in Bowdens (the everything shop!) and working in Wood and Rush opened up a world of fabulous people as well as getting me started gently. A chunk of money was then loaned to me by the Princes Trust, so that I could pay rent and buy materials without the need for a part time job Since then things have moved on and progressed. I have my own workshop, with my own tools, set within 10 acres of woodland. I now teach courses in the things that 10 years ago I was just trying to teach myself. Im a guest lecturer (sounds better than the bloke in the woods that they come and see once a year) and specialist advisor at Exeter uni and the masters program. Even though I dont sell much or do very much work locally anymore, almost every aspect of what I do and the people I make things for can be traced back to the folk that I met when I moved to Dartmoor :D So, really I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to all who have supported me in making my hobbies into my job and allowing me to have not worked a day for most of the last decade.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 17:08:11 +0000
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