Bristol Tree Craft CIC

really fun day making spoons! it was a nice sized group of 8 and Hugh and Ben gave really good guidance and were attentive to giving extra help to anyone when needed. The lunch they provided was wholesome and the location at Bridge Farm is really peaceful :) Overall was a really great day, highly recommended to everyone!!

Superb day spent learning all the skills needed to carve a spoon from our excellent tutors, Ben and Hugh. They took us through step-by-step and gave all abilities in the group the confidence and time needed to succeed. Tea, coffee and biscuits were always available and Hugh put on a delicious spread for the lunch that was included. Everyone left with a spoon they were proud of! Thank you Bristol Tree Craft!

Had heaps of fun and learnt a lot at Bristol Tree Crafts spoon carving workshop. Ben and Hugh are really down to earth, lovely guys with such a passion and wealth of knowledge that they shared with the group in a really easy to digest, informative way. They filled us with such amazing tips and tricks and supported the group in making some awesome spoons. The space is really cool and hearing about their plans to evolve it makes me really want to come back for more workshops. It was lovely to share a group lunch and have lots of cups of tea and good chats throughout the day as we were crafting. Their ethos of making this craft accessible to all is really admirable - it's so great to have a business offering workshops like this in Bristol. Feeling very inspired and keen for more! Thanks guys

I was given the opportunity to try bowl carving as a birthday present. What a great present it turned out to be. Hugh guided us novices with great skill and encouragement to produce very acceptable wooden (horse chestnut) bowls. My creation now sits proudly on my kitchen table - waiting for a coat of walnut oil, after a suitable period of drying out. It was good to learn how to use the various carving tools - including a small axe - safely and to good effect. I also enjoyed the excellent lunch, and the very convivial company of the group.

Such a great spoon carving course. Ben and Hugh are great teachers and you leave the day with a handmade spoon, full of tea, shared lunch, good conversation and new knowledge to take away and start making your own. The cost of the course also goes to supporting the other work that they do which is a great thing to know. Highly recommend!!

I had a very enjoyable time hacking and carving a split log until it resembled something that looked surprisingly like a spoon. I would have enthusiastically carved the thing away to nothing had Ben not saved it! I heartily recommend the course. Hugh and Ben are great teachers and you are sure to have a fun time of it.

I booked on the Bristol Tree Craft - Spoon carving beginners course, I believe they do an improvers course for developing more skills.The communication leading up to the day was excellent. Information on; how to find the location, when to arrive, what to bring, where to park, lunch etc.On arrival Ben and Hugh were very welcoming, coffee, tea and biscuits already on hand to welcome us. When everyone arrived, we had a short chat around how the day would flow, and some fun introductions from everyone, and as expected little bit about safety - axes and knives etc.We all took our positions at our carving blocks and got to select our choice of wood segments. The wood we had on hand that day was a spalted sycamore. Ideal for spoon carving, apparently.Through the course of the morning we were shown how to process this wood blank, using an axe through various key steps, until gradually it starting taking a very close shape of a spoon. If I recall this is called a billet. We were shown how to hold the wood and use the chopping block, how to use the axe, identifying many axe techniques. And importantly how to keep our fingers safe.We stopped for lunch, Hugh and Ben had beautiful bread, salads and cheeses. People could bring sharing items or packed lunches to top this up. Lunch was fun and lots of stories were shared.The afternoon was all about knife techniques, two differing types of knife and about six methods for taking the wood billet to a finished spoon. The last hour of the day was about finessing the spoons. We are all in our stride deeply focused on this final stage. During lunch we found out Ben (or Hugh, I cant recall) was a a keen singer and we had convinced him to sing us all a carpenters shanty style song. During this last hour Ben sang this song whilst we all focussed on our final carving. It was very impressive singing, and relaxing whilst carving in the sunshine.Finally we had time to show our creations to each other and a group photo or two. Ben and Hugh spoke through how to oil our spoons and look after them.Ben and Hugh were amazing hosts for the day, gave great detailed instruction of techniques and an easy to follow processes to create your own spoon. Life is about experiences and whats good for ones soul. This was a great experience and good for the soul. The other people on the group were really fun.It was a fantastic day. and I can't recommend it enough.Thanks Ben & Hugh!Regards, Geoff

Just completed a full day soon carving workshop with Ben & Hugh. I went with my girlfriend and parents and everyone had a great time! Hugh and Ben are super friendly, patient demonstrators, good cooks (thanks again for the delicious lunch!) and are clearly doing so much good in the community. Wish them the best of luck with their work, and can recommend the workshops to anyone of any ability.

It was a great Spatula making session, Hugh was very helpful and welcoming!