Crikey, I never thought I'd be doing something like this. To be honest, I've never even read a blog, let alone contemplated writing one, but I want to share what goes into the work I do and why after 26 years, I still love working with my hands and creating lovely, honest work for clients. Hopefully someone out there may enjoy reading about it too.

Hi I'm Phil, this is how it started.
My first memories of carpentry were sitting at the bottom of our stairs when I must have been about 5 or 6 years old, freezing cold, watching my dad fitting our front door in early winter. I can clearly remember the scent of decaying leaves outside mixed with wood shavings and 3in1 oil.
My dad isn't a joiner but with his Black & Decker cordless drill, Stanley Blue Chip chisels, little DeWalt hobby bandsaw, a few other hand tools and the re-purposed Danish butter biscuit tin as a screw tub, I watched him make our kitchen, a dresser, our Christmas presents, fit doors and also kitchens and a hardwood conservatory for our neighbours. I'm forever grateful to him for those memories and sparking my interest in woodworking ... and for letting me make wooden swords and guns to fight my brothers with.

One of our old school Christmas games that my dad made for us. No iPads in sight. That's me on the left.
Secondary school wasn't a place I enjoyed at all. I didn't fit in and as a result, I got out as soon as I could. I served an apprenticeship whilst going to night school to get my joinery qualifications, after which I moved around for a couple of years earning a wage but not enjoying what I was doing until happening upon a chance to work with an older joiner by the name of John Ridehalgh. It was a turning point in my working life. The work we did and lessons learned were invaluable and the precision that was required was of a different level. I got the chance to work on some amazing projects in some of the most beautiful private residences around the country for a several years: from Kensington mansions to 16th Century Cotswold cottages.
All things come to an end though and it was time to move on but I'll leave that part of the story until next time.
So what now?
Over the next few months I'm hoping to post more about the great commissions we're working on for clients including photographs documenting progress.
Coming up we'll be making heavily moulded hardwood casement windows for a cottage in Croston; a staircase renovation in Bolton; and traditional wooden panelling for a client in Standish. Plus, a little more about my background and my experiences working on old buildings. I may even post some tips and tricks if you're planning on tackling some DIY joinery yourself.

My aim is to tell an honest story about the ups and downs our little workshop, how we work, and what actually goes into traditional joinery. Hopefully this little blog will strike a chord with some and may bring a little light relief from the falseness of social media and endless doom and gloom of the world.
If you like what you've read, maybe Sign Up at the top of the page or leave a comment!
A lovely insight. Thanks for sharing.