an oak frame builder
Being the creative lot that we are, we tend to look for many different mediums to work with, to design with and to create with, and then there’s a few of us such as Will who’s sustainability is an important factor with what he works with. In this case, Oak - Here’s his story and where we find him today.
Will grew up in Kent, but remembers spending as much time as he could during the school holidays etc down here in Cornwall. Once his schooling etc had finished, it seemed inevitable that he’d head back down to Cornwall, to stay with his father and make this his home.
That was certainly the case until Uni came calling and Will headed off again to study Geography and Anthropology. Something he’d been interested in for some time.
The next leg of his journey to speak of was his return to Cornwall after Uni. He then landed himself a job at a local boat yard, running the hire boats and teaching sailing lessons and further developing his skills which were heavily influenced by his father. Shortly after, he found himself a job on a large motor yacht sailing in and around South East Asia for the next 3 years or so, working as a deck hand and then rising all the the way through the ranks. Will’s traveling adventures didn’t end there. A friend of his showed him a recruiting ad for a Boatman for the British Antarctic Survey, he secured that position and spent the next 21months living and working in Antarctic, then on to South Georgia. “That's a story for another time” Will said.
“Coming back from that trip was a strange time, but the effect that trees and woodlands had on me was quite profound.”
So, where do we find him today? Well, once he’d returned from the Antarctic and experiencing all the white stuff and no real vegetation to speak of, it had quite an impact on him. Will told me “Coming back from that trip was a strange time, but the effect that trees and woodlands had on me was quite profound.” So, the money he saved whilst working away, bought himself a 19 acre parcel of woodland in North Cornwall. His interest in green wood carpentry, traditional woodwork and woodland management followed and that lead onto his love of green oak timber framing and that’s where we find him today.
Will now has his own workshop crafting, creating, designing and installing oak frames. Things of beauty. Structures that can be admired for decades as they colour in, move, split and blend in to the landscape. Thanks for allowing me into your world of oak Will.
