Crafts hand made on the Hebridean isle of Coll
In 1992 my wife took me on a course to make a chair from a tree where we learnt to use a foot powered pole lathe and entered the world of green woodwork. As well as turning we learnt to carve spoons and bowls. I then got into turning bowls and goblets for which I needed to make tools so I got a forge and started blacksmithing. Following on from this I needed to make covers for things I made and for other tools we bought so leather work was next to learn.
We created Brigstock Bodgers in the mid 90's when we demonstrated pole lathe turning at craft and country fairs all over the country. Bodgers were the people who made the turned parts for chairs in the Chilterns using pole lathes. We made and sold Windsor chairs, stools, bowls and anything that could be turned on the pole lathe.
We moved to Coll in 2000 and as I now had a big work shop I started making furniture as well. After a while I got a part time job on the island but have continued making. I now mainly use an electric lathe due to bad knees, but the pole lathe is still used for smaller things.
Over the last couple of years I have started making leather bags of different designs as well as my turned and carved wooden items.
Hand made leather items using the best quality leather and hardware.
Bowls and spoons made from wood from sustainable sources.
