The European Woodworking Show is a great place to meet up with some real craftsmen; people who’s crafts genuinely become a part of who they are. Another highlight for me last year was meeting with Willy Rackham, an archery enthusiast and expert at fletching and making longbows. Willy wasn’t hard to spot as he was the chap in the wonderfully produced traditional outfit which without better reference I’d have to describe as Robin Hood.
There was an obvious passion for bringing our history back to life and I was delighted to see the bits of furniture that had been brought along for the display. As their maker Willy shrugged off any sense of pride for the pieces; they’d been built for purpose and that was all, they were even left out in our typical English rain!
It was a small chest that had really caught my attention. A nailed together six board chest with a lovely honest character, note the lovely ripples left on its surfaces by the tools and the slight discolouration around the nail holes. It was not pretending to be anything more than it was and this gave it a real charm.
It turns out the chest was a scaled down version of one Willy had seen in a church and I really quite like its dinky proportions, much more practical for the modern home.
I enjoyed meeting with a man who had really found himself in his work, too often we can try too hard to be someone we’re not. We don’t all desire to dress up as Robin Hood nor have a taste for medieval chests but I think we can all aim for this kind of honesty in our work. When a piece turns out just as we intended then it’s likely it will carry a bit of our own personality with it and it’s this that can give even the simplest of work a true character of its own.
a very nice read this morning Richard, i love robin hood and his place in history, and so its nice to see someone else does to, and he is who he is, and to me those are the people i like being around, honest in who they are and no ply or air to be anything more…me im a simple wood worker, who loves to learn, and to enjoy the journey…i love to help people when i can…and i like to make saw dust……here here for robin hood…..
Thank Bob, a beautifully written comment!
oh i wanted to ask what is happening with the video’s you talk of, are these going to be items for sale here or will they be able to be seen by the general public…and when will they become available……
We have a big blog post coming up that will make everything clear about the videos. We’re hoping to do the majority for all to enjoy (free) and will also have some much more in depth projects that will be pay to view, with everything accessible from this blog. I hope this helps for now.
Richard, the pay to view projects. Will you be able to buy and download these projects ?
I’m looking forward to these starting up buddy. Ok I know wait for the blog post. HaHa 😉
Hi Ken, yes the paid videos should be able to be downloaded as well, they will certainly be able to be streamed an unlimited number of times once purchased. Once bought you can watch it for life. The free content will be more of a YouTube style of service with video embedded on to the blog. (I feel very technical now!)
All this 21St Century technology!!! I am still in the 90s,the 1790s!I have only just bought a computer.
Chris,
France
I don’t think I’m too far ahead of you, probably 1810 – 1812 , somewhere round there!
We are looking at putting the videos on to good old fashioned DVDs as well if possible, it’s always nice to have something you can hold.
Richard, DVDs would be great. My girlfriend read your last post and just smiled 😉