Bearwood Workshop

Perching kingfisher, happy to sit on any edge or ledge.

A first look at the woody woodpecker....experimenting with some new forms and taking a look at how simple changes to the shape expression impacts the overall aesthetics. ⁠
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Bearwood Workshop is now on WhatsApp.

Three perching birds getting ready to go to for a custom commission.

The much loved piwakawaka, a popular companion in the workshop! Sometimes I get up to 5 hovering above me scooping up the bugs..⁠
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This sculpture has been made from locally source storm fallen beech. Available to purchase from the bearwood website. ⁠
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The grill to the speaker is routed from upcycled secondhand Kauri timber. It's stunning to use and allows for a highly detailed carving project like this speaker grill.

Part of the Bearwood ethos it to re-use and recycle where possible and create new items from past loved timber wherever possible.

I truly love the contrasting woodgrain of this timer, the fade from heartwood to sapwood creates a really beautiful transition in colour and texture.

A little close-up view of the lovely recessed aluminum buttons on the Bluetooth speaker. Devil is in the details with this one.

Yep, that one, has to be that one...

Fresh new Bluetooth speaker carved, chopped, and ready to send. This one is winging its way off to the USA to find its new home and hopefully give many years of happy service. ⁠

Fresh new fantail carved out of a solid piece of locally sourced mountain beech.

Fresh new serving board ready to leave the workshop. Chopped from Tasmanian Blackwood and laid up to best show off the stunning wood grain.

The humble tool wall. I really love the personality of old tools, I'm sure each one has a long story to tell of adventures past and creations made. Strangely they always seem to add a lot of joy to my making process...

Busy afternoon finishing off a new batch of birds, really love the way the grain slowly reveals itself through the carving process. The Tasmanian Blackwood has got such a stunning contrast between the heart and sap wood.

Busy putting the final touches on a new serving tray design this afternoon. Inspired by the recent soap dish, it uses the carved fern leaf pattern combined with subtle bevel edge detail. Exciting new addition to the fern leaf range.
@ Glendhu, New Zealand

Excited to be putting the final touches to a new range of carved soap dishes, this one is using the fern leaf pattern seen on a few other bearwood creations and is made from either recycled Rimu or Tasmanian Blackwood. All of the designs have been inspired by the amazing soap made by which is truly epic. .
Glendhu Bay, Wanaka

Fresh flock of new carved birds ready to fly the coop....all hand made from tasmianian blackwood.

Little perching bellbird, happy just to hang out. Finished carving this one today out of some Tasmanian blackwood. He can sit on any edge and will hopefully be up on the shop soon..

Bearwood Workshop added a Shop on Website button to their Page.

Our wooden bird sculptures were featured in this month's edition of Christchurch magazine Avenues! Thanks again to the guys at Felt.

Avenues July 2019 The Magazine Christchurch Lives By

More new products added to our website today! www.bearwood.co.nz

Been working hard on these for the past few months here at Bearwood, our range of vintage wall hangings are now available on Etsy and Felt...

Milford, New Zealand, Vintage Reclaimed Timber Carved Art Wall Hanging Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) is New Zealands most famous tourist destination. It runs 15 km inland from the Tasman Sea and is renowned for its lush rain-forests, dramatic waterfalls and Mitre Peak. Rudyard Kipling called Milford the eighth Wonder of the World. This detailed wood carving depicts the

Excited to see our bird sculptures have been featured on Felt.co.nz this week. Handmade in Wanaka at the Bearwood Workshop.

Stunning sculpture – Felt Blog Stunning sculpture Monday, 10 June, 2019Tuesday, 28 May, 2019 Leave a comment We’re in love with this hand carved bird sculpture, made from Tasmanian blackwood timber, from Bearwood Workshop. Each Bearwood bird is lovingly carved from a custom selected bit of timber to provide its own unique grain...

Back to challenge bread bin today. The 30 degree corner joints to the main box look great but have proved a little more challenging to jig up than originally anticipated. Think i’m going to try a combination of domino joiner, ratchet straps, custom home brew crazy clamps and subtle loving encouragement...what can go wrong...

There has been bit of a shift in style in the workshop over the past few days. I’m in the process of developing a range of rustic wooden stools and benches utilising traditional joining and finishing techniques. All natural! This is the first prototype, it has been made from locally sourced macrocarpa which has then finished in the traditional Japanese ‘Shou Sugi Ban’ burning. The central cross strut has the carved leaf pattern that has been used on a few of my other pieces recently. The next final step will be to apply some tung oil for extra protection. It’s been a fun process of going back to school and learning new techniques and finishes.

It’s been great to get back into the workshop over the past few days after what feels like a lifetime of flu (only 3 weeks really but i’m not patient at being ill...). Good to get back into the making-creative zone. I’ve started to look at some geometric relief carvings for a lid on a new bread bin design. I’m hoping to make the main body out of tasmanian black wood to give a contrast to the pale colour of the lid.

Feeling inspired by leaf patterns, enjoying the free flowing organic forms. Just doing the final clean up on a relief carving before turning it into a drawer front. .

Finishing up some lamp sides. These have been cut from some recycled timber sourced from a dismantled church that was hit by the 2011 Christchurch earth quake. Happy to be giving the timber a new purpose in life.