Special offer for Ernest readers: £5 off a woodcarving workshop in Sussex

If you've ever fancied mastering wood carving techniques and making your own wooden utensils, all in a secluded Sussex forest just a short train ride from London, this could be the workshop for you. And Ernest readers get £5 off the full price. Whoa there, sunny Jim.

Miscellaneous Adventures is hosting a woodcarving workshop on 12 April in a secluded forest location in the West Sussex countryside. During the course, they'll teach you how to carve your own wooden spoon from green wood using axes, carving knives and crook knives. But, more than that, they will also show you how these techniques and tools can be utilised in the great outdoors to make all sorts of useful objects when on adventures.

All tools and materials will be provided as well as tea, coffee, snacks, some local beers for the end of the day, printed bits and pieces and an embroidered honour patch. The location is well served by public transport and is only an hour and a half away from London by train.

There are limited spaces left so hurry and book now. If you quote 'ERNEST' when booking, you pay a discounted rate of £85 instead of £90.

Carver of wood, Donal Moloney

Donal Moloney of Carve Cases makes iPhone cases, USB keys and wallets out of wood. He once even made a wooden bicycle. He has never seen Star Wars.

How did you get into woodwork? Has it been a lifelong passion?

I wouldn't say a lifelong passion, but it has been a lifelong presence and appreciation. I picked up the interest from my dad. He's an architect and a very hands on maker. I remember when I was young, any work in our house was done by him. He's pretty skilled in most areas of making, but he is particularly good at woodwork. He built wooden storage units, a fireplace surround and a shed all from scratch. There wasn't the easy access to flat pack DIY kits like there is today. Everything was done patiently and skilfully. I remember every time work or repairs needed doing, asking "when is the man coming to do it?" The man was already there. Watching him allowed me to think that I could make anything I wanted, without any problem.

What are the joys of working with wood?

When I started out it was the smell of freshly sawn wood. But I don't get that any more; I think I'm immune to it. The greatest joy is the sense of satisfaction of completing something. Generally a lot of design and planning time will have gone in to it, so it's nice to see it all come together.

What inspires your work?

Simple, clever design that I see anywhere. It doesn't necessarily have to be a wooden piece. I love modern architecture. A lot of woodworkers add embellishments purely because they can. It shows off their skill. But I think there is a greater skill in refining your work. I hate seeing embellishment added, trying to copy older designs or replicate traditional pieces. I hate the idea of trying to make something into something it's not.

What's the oddest thing you've crafted out of wood?

Nearly everything we make at Carve Cases seems a little strange to be made from wood; iPhone cases, USB keys and wallets are all kinda odd. I once CNC machined a frame from solid ash for a prototype wooden bike.

Any exciting projects for 2014?

Two extremely exciting projects. Unfortunately neither of which I can give details about until the products are released. One is a project for a client involving music. The other is an in-house project that is really only in it's infancy. It's way too early to say anything about it.

Sing us a song, any song (one that gets you in the creative mood).

"I wanna be near you and blink in your light, and toast marshmallows on a cold, dark night". Flame by Bell X1.

Finish the following sentence. I have never...

...seen a single Star Wars movie. I have never been 100% happy with anything I've ever made. I have never been outside Europe.

What's on your bedside table?

My cycling training plan, iPad mini, a jar of coins, an Ikea lamp and plenty of dust.

To see more clever things with wood, from iPad easels to a wooden keyboards, read our Tactile Tech feature in issue one, on sale now (click the image below for more!)

Four reasons to like Accrington, Lancashire

Hand-whittled pencils, cycling shoes, grandma's own sauce and airweave cotton: Lancashire's got it sussed. Paul Vincent of S.E.H Kelly tells us what draws him to the land of mills time after time.

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People like Accrington. This is probably because of the famous 'Accrington Stanley' advert for milk, or whatever it was, back in the 1990s. It is, in its own right, a nice place, in a nice part of the world, and I often pass near it on the way to various mills and factories in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Here's what I like about it:

Lancashire sauce

I was introduced to Entwistle's Lancashire Sauce by Mr. Entwistle. I was in his shop in Ramsbottom, and the prospect of a sauce made to the recipe of his ma – one fit for condimentation with seemingly any type of food – was too good to pass up. Excellent sauce from a very nice man.

Mamnick shoes

Mamnick is the brand of a man called Thom who, along with shirts and steel objects, makes shoes. Cycling shoes, to be precise. No cyclist, me, but I have it on good authority that, with these shoes, Thom has truly "nailed it". Old-school, in a way, but timeless things, really.

Trickett pencils

There's a chap in Accrington called Iain Trickett, who sells some wonderful things on his website. These pencils are a good example. I think they are out of stock at time of writing, but I believe they are soon coming back, which is good news, because they are terrific and tactile and hand-whittled by a man who lives in the woods.

Airweave cotton

We have used cotton from Lancashire for a few years, but only late last year did we find this stuff: airweave, which is a type of holey cotton – light and dry but hard-wearing, and a replica of military cloth from years ago. Plain and sober cloth, and just the thing for casual jackets. Watch this space.

Paul Vincent is approximately one half of S.E.H Kelly, a clothing brand founded in 2009. They make garments with makers of the British Isles, in their workshop in east London, and in a few shops in Japan. 

sehkelly.com

A camera strap fit for Ernest

Handcrafted by a photographer-turned-strap-maker, these deliciously coloured leather camera straps are perfectly designed to complement your favourite piece of kit. 

What is it about this seemingly ordinary leather camera strap that catches our eye? Why is it a thing of beauty? 

Well, for a start off, it comes down to a thoughtful design process and attention to detail. Using traditional materials and techniques in their Oregon workshop, the Great State Strap Co has crafted each strap with the company’s ethos in mind, focusing on comfort, function and aesthetics.

Founder and photographer Gary Tyler knows that making a strap to endure daily outdoor use requires quality leather, so he's very picky about where his materials come from. He finishes the leather in-house using carefully chosen vegetable dyes and oils, creating an appealing array of tasty-sounding colours, such as honey and dark chocolate.

The straps are cut, bevelled and burnished by Gary and his team for a comfortable feel and polished look. The adjustable strap means you can sling it over your shoulder and keep your camera safe on more adventurous photography excursions.

We think the Boot Strap would look particularly fetching with a Fuji X100. Oh yes. 

Great State Boot Strap, £59, Harrison & Fyfe

The One Jumper Project

It was a simple idea. Travel round the country and photograph a range of people against a simple background, all wearing the same jumper. Chris Blott from Quiggleys tells us the story behind the One Jumper Project.

What inspired you to start the One Jumper Project?

“Photography was always going to be at the heart of Quiggleys and I had been trying to think of a project to use on the site. One day, while driving, the idea was there. I don’t know where it came from but there it was. Take one jumper and a canvas on a tour of the country and photograph whoever I could persuade to wear the jumper. What else could I call it? I found the background on a friend’s scrap yard; it was being used to cover an old submarine.”

Have there been any unexpected results from the project?

“I love photography projects that allow for the unexpected. I love the serendipity of stopping on a street and seeing who walks past. Without exception, something good or unexpected or surprising would always happen – stuff that I could never plan or contrive.

I found myself using whatever was at hand to hold the background in place. These little clues about the location were one of my favourite aspects of the project – the massive bolt from a shipyard and the rounded pebbles from the beach at Saltburn.”

So introduce us to this jumper then, it’s Kinny right?

“Kinny was the flagship piece to launch Quiggleys. It is a great jumper, a classic chunky cable knit. We made one as a sample and that’s the one used in the project. Tragically the factory who were going to make the jumper let us down and we never got any, other than the one sample. Not surprisingly we are now working with a new factory and are planning the Kinny Two for next autumn. Whether the One Jumper Project continues with original Kinny or the new Kinny is still to be decided.”

Andy Schofield

I photographed Andy in the tiny, spectacular Yorkshire village of Staithes – famous for being the town where Captain James Cook first worked as a young man and discovered his love of the sea. Andy was simply walking down the street as I drove past. He is a roofer and agreed to wearing the jumper. By the time I set up he was on top of a roof.

Matthew Tronsdale

I was driving in Whitby and glanced left, through large gates, and saw a man walking in paint splattered overalls. I went back but couldn’t do my shot as the men were working; I’d have to come back the next day. I hadn’t really thought it through – the only shot I managed to get was of the guard dog with the jumper round its neck. There was no sign of Matthew, until two minutes before lunch was up when he walked in and thankfully agreed to wear the jumper. Amazingly, he managed to keep a straight face in front of eight jeering ship builders.

Stylist, London

I managed to lose this guy’s name. I had set up on Brick Lane in London. This guy is a stylist and took one look at the jumper and decided to wear it as a scarf, of course. Thankfully he hadn’t seen the shot of the guard dog wearing it.

Kristina Antananityte

This was shot in Cornwall. I know Kristina as she's a model and we were working on a commercial project. I have photographed Kristina so many times but this is my favourite picture of her because it’s not selling anything. No hair and makeup, no client, no agenda – just a straightforward portrait that took two minutes.

Steve Graham

This is probably my favourite from the series, both in terms of the shot but also how it happened. I had arranged to photograph a surfer at Saltburn beach on the North Sea coast. As I waited for him, Steve walked past. It was that simple. A two minute shoot, great light and the oddity of the jumper and a wetsuit – perfect.

Jamie Harvey

This was shot at Murthly Castle, just north of Perth. I was on a totally different shoot and hadn’t really planned to do any One Jumper portraits. Jamie’s mum was working on the shoot and had brought him as it was half term. So I set up and photographed Jamie, more as a bit of fun than anything else. It is now the one image from the set that always gets a reaction. It was also the first shot for the project so a strange place to start.

Chris Blott studied in Glasgow and has spent 25 years working as a photographer, before establishing Quiggleys in 2013. "Maybe I’m lazy and can’t be bothered setting up lights but whenever possible I’ll work with daylight. It never lets you down and is infinite in it possibilities. As people we understand daylight, we recognise it and identify with it."