Given the opportunity to craft bespoke furniture for a client during a villa restoration, builder Adam Ward found a new vocation, shifting from building and renovating houses to designing and handcrafting his own range of wooden furniture and homewares. The result was Eastwood Design, now established with a purpose-built workshop in Northland.
Waikato maker Jeff Fryett of Woodenjeff hand carves elegant and tactile wooden spoons and spatulas from green wood, fresh from the trees. Using minimal tools — just a saw, axe, and knives — to shape his products, he then burnishes them with a pebble to leave a smooth tooled finish.
John Robertson of Wood and Chisel crafts beautiful wooden homewares from his Ōtautahi Christchurch family home. His work is a response to the absence of beauty and meaning in modern day mass production. His mission? To create beautiful and useful objects with unique pieces of reclaimed timber, to bring moments of joy as we go about our everyday activities.
Gwyneth Hulse Design is a longtime Felt favourite, producing her gorgeous wooden homewares and jewellery from a boutique studio in sunny Kerikeri. Gwyneth’s love of clean, minimalist lines and natural materials inspires her designs, all created from native New Zealand wood. Due to the unique nature of the wood, no two objects are ever completely alike.
Mike Walker of Walker’s Woodturning was born and bred on a sheep and beef farm in the King Country. His passion for woodturning began with many childhood hours spent turning with his grandfather. In 2002 Mike broke his back, and it was this that eventually led him to take up woodturning again in his adult years, this time in a professional capacity. Assisted by his wife Helen on the business front, Mike has worked hard to adapt traditional turning techniques to his needs, and as a result he’s competent at ambidextrous turning, and turning seated or standing.
Four years ago Elizabeth Woollard’s trip to France and Italy inspired her with visions of old architecture, flaking paint, interesting doors and vibrant colours. From this fertile ground her creative outlet Tiny House was born. Why houses? Elizabeth says we often find ourselves pondering “I wonder who lives there, I wonder what they do?” She sees her tiny creations, made from recycled New Zealand timber, as big builders of the imagination.
Is it a coat rack, hat stand, or wall art? Yes! The Forest HangR from Darren Scott Design is a stunning wall mounted coat piece made of up to nine New Zealand native timbers. Each HangR is an individual and no two will be the same.
Gracing the cover of our Christmas Catalogue this year with their elegant form, these beautiful birds by Bearwood Workshop are handcarved in Wanaka from Tasmanian Blackwood or Mountain Beech. Inspired by the korimako or New Zealand bellbird, each one is unique, with its own grain pattern and character. We think these make a stunning gift (though you may find you want to keep them for yourself).
Looking for a lasting gift for a newborn or youngster? This beautiful flying Tui mobile from Gwyneth Hulse Design will add lovely interest to their room and will never tire of flying! It will fly gently in a breeze or you can set it in motion by pulling a string below. Made from New Zealand Tōtara and sealed with a natural beeswax polish, it’s completely handcrafted…
These stylish drop earrings with variegated gold foil from Liberation are super light and comfortable, as well as being absolutely gorgeous. Made from recycled mahogany…