Nick Agar

Nick’s affection and understanding of wood stems from his time spent as a forester in Devon before starting his woodturning apprenticeship at Dartington. Nick’s work is inspired by nature, geography, ancient artefacts and cultures worldwide. His work displays a very strong connection with the ancient civilisations of North American Indian, Egyptian, Mayan and Aboriginal arts. Influenced by organic forms, pottery and his natural surroundings, he specialises in hollow forms and large diameter work and is particularly well known for his wall sculptures. His award winning work often incorporates carving, weaving and metalwork.
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Jason Breach

Starting from the early age of 12, Jason has over 20 years experience, not just in woodturning but as a furniture maker, both as a hobby and commercially. As a result of his love of the beauty and diversity of grain pattern and colour, Jason enjoys the challenge that woodturning presents and communicating that interest to others, encouraging and developing their skills and abilities. His long association with Axminster Tool Centre has allowed him to build on his technical knowledge of woodworking tools and machinery, enabling his students to benefit from his experience. A competent and discerning craftsman, Jason is well known and respected as a leading woodturner both in this country and abroad.
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Mark Hancock

Mark’s work ranges from decorative yet functional bowls to vessels, hollow forms and wall pieces. His work is motivated by the pursuit and exploration of line and form rather than artistic statement. With the thin walled vessels he creates, he tries to achieve the purist curve possible. He then carves away areas adding life and movement to each piece. This creative process has developed from the hollow vase-like vessels with exaggerated rims, which have become Mark’s trademark, to more open sculptural forms. Mark now has a workshop in Worcestershire but for many years lived and worked in Wales; during that period he became one of Wales’ foremost woodturners.
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Phil Irons

Phil’s first taste of woodturning came at the age of 14, when his father gave him and his brothers a cast iron treadle lathe. In his late twenties Phil took up turning as a hobby once more and in 1994 became a full time turner, demonstrating commercially for a major tool manufacturer and displaying his skills at woodturning clubs. Phil derives a huge amount of satisfaction from turning hollow forms which he then colours or decorates; he also enjoys teaching.
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Stuart King

Stuart was born in the Buckinghamshire village of Holmer Green. He has spent his life researching traditional woodworking skills in England and overseas, in particular Eastern Europe. He is also a keen collector of artefacts about the rural past, and is today a well known craftsman, demonstrator, international lecturer and photo-journalist, contributing regularly to Woodturning magazine. His demonstrations and master classes are humorous, friendly and fast moving, and his lectures are often illustrated with antique tools and photographs. He works with wet timbers, colour and texturing, thereby creating a lot of interest when he demonstrates.
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Bert Marsh

Bert is one of the best known woodturners in the UK, not only for his turning skills but also for his sense of humour and showmanship. Bert has devoted his life to working with wood; his love and deep understanding of wood have had a huge influence on his work. In his own words he is simply striving to achieve the perfect form, the purest possible curves expressed in simple, uncluttered shapes that will expose the beauty of the wood to the full. In seeking that goal, I find inspiration in the wood itself. Bert served an apprenticeship, at the age of 14, as a cabinet-maker, designing and producing quality commissioned furniture. He has extensive teaching experience and has demonstrated at numerous exhibitions.
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Tracy Owen

Tracy is a UK-based artistic woodturner focusing on high quality turned wood and has spent the last 16 years perfecting his skills as a woodturner, demonstrator and artist in wood. Tracy has won many awards at national shows for his innovative work. He is one of the few woodturners to derive his sole income from woodturning, specialising in green (or wet) wood turning of bowls and hollow forms to produce unique one-off pieces. His more recent work with hollow forms involves colouring techniques used on English ash and sycamore. Tracy likes to explore the use of colour, texturing, ebonising and sandblasting on his decorative bowls. He also contributes articles to Woodturning magazine.
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Tony Rea

Tony is based in Northern Ireland and is one of the UK’s foremost woodturning instructors. He has a great reputation for being a showman and enjoys creating original works from interesting pieces of native timber. He is always a good attraction to any show and has been one of the main demonstrators at both the AWGB and Alabama Woodturners’ Association in the USA.

Gary Rance

At the age of 16, Gary began a three year apprenticeship with a small woodturning company in Chesham, where he gained valuable experience turning peppermills and kitchenware. He went on to make stair balusters and chair parts with another company and then became involved with Steward Linford of High Wycombe, makers of the famous Windsor chair. Gary has demonstrated at exhibitions and woodturning clubs throughout the UK, Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway and at Utah Symposium in Provo, Salt Lake City. Gary is considered to be one of the fastest and most accurate production woodturners in the UK.
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Dave Reeks

Dave’s interest in woodturning began at school, at the age of 15, where he turned wood and metal. Dave specialises in large pieces using interesting burr and spalted timbers, making the most of the natural beauty of the timber to enhance his pieces of work. His experiments with colour and texture add yet another dimension to his work and some of his decorative platters have won awards at international shows. He now spends some of his time demonstrating at woodworking shows throughout the UK, France and across America.
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Les Thorne

Les has been involved with wood all his life. Initially he worked as a saw doctor in the family timber mill and then became a company director. In 1998 he decided to make a life change and became a full time woodturner. Les production turns many items from furniture components and architectural work to one-off specials. His work is varied and ranges from staircase spindles to candlesticks for churches. He has demonstrated at many of the national woodworking shows, and runs courses from his Hampshire workshop.
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Colwin Way

Having developed an interest in woodturning at school, Colwin served a five year apprenticeship, turning up to 20 bowls, 45 vases or 100 lace bobbins a day. On finishing his apprenticeship, Colwin started up on his own, designing and turning for galleries, craft shops and other outlets and establishing a reputation as a leading woodturner. He was immediately in demand as a demonstrator/tutor and thus began his association with Axminster Tool Centre, taking over the development and running of the woodturning courses. Colwin has since demonstrated and taught on behalf of Axminster in the UK, France and as far away as Norway.
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