SpoonTown

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Welcome to Spoontown 2025!

We’re back for our fourth incredible year, bringing you an immersive weekend of greenwood carving, community, and craftsmanship. Hosted at the beautiful Knowler Farm in Stelling Minnis, Kent, UK, Spoontown 2025 runs from Thursday, July 24th to Sunday, July 27th.

For those wanting the ultimate experience, Pre-Town runs ahead of the main event offering a series of two and half days intensive courses. See the Pre-Town page for further details. (These courses tend to sell out very quickly!)

 

How to Participate:

To take part in the workshops, plan to arrive on Thursday afternoon. That evening, our main marquee opens at 8 PM, where ticket holders can meet the tutors and book their classes. This year, we have improved our course booking system to make the process smoother and more efficient, ensuring everyone gets a fair chance to participate in their preferred sessions.

 

What to Expect:

Join us for a long weekend filled with hands-on workshops, expert-led tutorials, delicious food, and evenings of games and music. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned carver, there’s something for everyone. Our workshops include:

  • Spoon carving for all levels
  • Axe work and sharpening techniques
  • Kolrosing and decorative carving
  • Basket weaving, stool making, and kuksa carving
  • Live demonstrations from top greenwood experts

All of the Pre-Town tutors will be staying on to offer additional short courses during Spoontown and a host of additional experts will offer workshops throughout the event. Details will be added to the Spoontown page over the coming weeks and announced via our social media channels.

Sustainability & Facilities:

Spoontown is a low-impact event, so please bring your own chair, plate, bowl, mug, and cutlery—there will be no disposable options. Washing-up stations will be available around the site. If you’re cycling or arriving by public transport, let us know, and we’ll provide you with seating.

Food & Drinks:

Our chef Harvey will be serving up fresh, locally sourced meals daily. A food van will offer high-quality meals at reasonable prices, and our evening bar will keep the drinks flowing.

Getting Here:

We encourage carpooling—check the Spoontown Facebook page for lift shares. Detailed travel directions are available on the Venue page.

Limited Tickets Available:

Spoontown is an exclusive, prepaid ticket event with only 200 spots available

See you in the field!

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FAQ

Spoontown – Courses

Tutor Course Name: Click for details Time Price Places
Adam Ashworth

Etching sloyd knives

Friday PM £50 6
Adam Hawker

A day of spoon carving with master craftsman 'Mr Precision'.

All Day Friday £70 ~
Aimee Bell

Leather coasters with decorative stamping techniques

Friday PM £35 8
Ali Asardi

Plate turning on a pole lathe with renowned tutor Ali. Some physical fitness required.

All Day Friday £80 5
Amy Leake

Bowl or cup turning on a Pole Lathe with renowned tutor Amy Leake. Some physical fitness required.

All Day Friday £80 5
Anna Barker

From log to shrink pot - making a shrink pot with a fitted lid

All Day Friday £65 6
Deborah Schneebeli Morrell

Carve a pocket spoon, measuring with your eyes, drawing without a template. Blanks provided

All Day Friday £70 8
Diana Brook

Block printing. Devise, cut and print a unique design that might promote your brand or just be a beautiful creative experience. 3 hour sessions give plenty of time for prints, cards, totes, gift tags. Get lost in the process and love what you achieve

Friday AM
Friday PM
£35 10
Ellie Morgan

Bread basket for beginners - £4 additional charge to cover materials. Suitable for total beginners (including children 12+ if accompanied by an adult)

All Day Friday £35 9
Emma F V Smith

Sharpening course for sloyds, axes and hook knives. I'll be teaching hand sharpening technique with lots of time for troubleshooting and technique refinement. Factory fresh Mora 106 knives provided for practice.

All Day Friday £70 4
Georg Schulte

Ginko leaf copper smithing for beginners

Friday PM £35 5
Jan Harm ter Brugge

A roundwood straight spoon in 5 clear steps (beginners/advanced)

Friday AM £35 8
Jan Harm ter Brugge

A roundwood straight spoon in 5 clear steps (beginners/advanced)

Friday PM £35 8
Jane Mickelborough

Learn how to chip carve with international tutor Jane.

Friday AM £35 6
Lee John Phillips

The focus on this course is to fully prepare yourselves to carve a successful utensil before you pick up your axe. You will learn the fundamentals of rigorous idea generation for utensils and how to to develop successful templates.
Lee will talk through his own process of designing (across disciplines) and introduce a number of approaches to drawing that will help inform and develop your practice.

Friday AM £35 ~
Lee John Phillips

Join Lee John Phillips for a half day introduction to chip carving. You will learn the basics of single-wall and three-wall chips and how these can be used as building blocks to construct intricate patterns.
There will be a focus on designing for spoon decoration, but non spoon carvers are welcome as the outcome will be a standalone craft-piece.

Friday PM £35 ~
Martin Rutherford

Total beginners , cooking spoon , teaching as much as possible in a day to cover safe axe working , making a spoon blank to safe knife work learning 5-6 knife grips, a guide of balance and proportion in shape. Some discussion as the day goes about wood choice/ sharpening .Enough to get you going in the art of spoon craft, Friday only .

All Day Friday £65 6
Maryanne McGinn

Learn how to elevate your items by using paint and oil stains in Maryanne's contemporary style.

Friday PM £35 8
Mikey Elephant

Mikey will be teaching you how to design and make an asymmetrical eating spoon in his own unique style

All Day Friday £80 7
Mr The Creature

Create something amazing from (almost) nothing! Learn how to make beads from raw clay. These will be fired Saturday morning, weather allowing.

Friday AM £35 10
Mr The Creature

Drop in session to learn to carve wooden beads - no need to book.

Friday PM £10 ~
Nic Westermann

Various options, from hollow grinding your own sloyd knife, or I grind it for you, to purchasing a new hollow ground sloyd blade. You will then be taught to hand sharpen the final edge when the all important hollow ground geometry is perfectly set up. We will then move on to sharpening flat bevel sloyds.

Friday PM £45 10
Nico De Wispelaere

Kolrose like a tattoo artist: Finish your given spoon and decorate your own key/doorhanger with the kolrosing technique. We will introduce some design elements, talk tools and pigments. You get: a eating spoon and key/doorhanger

Friday AM £40 8
Nico De Wispelaere

Facetted Cooking spoon, knifework: During this workshop we will focus on knifework and the important role of crank, facets, form and function. We will discuss how small elements can change a whole spoon. You get: Start with a blank

Friday PM £40 8
Oren Hetzeroni Chicken Scoops Friday PM £35 ~
Paul Adamson

Resting Spoon - Carve a Cooking spoon and a spoon rest. A great introduction and improvers session in spoon carving with a fun extra project to carve a place to rest your spoon during stirring sessions in the kitchen. Tuition can be tailored to all levels and there will be lots of useful advice on the skills needed to carve with an axe and knife efficiently and quickly. Plenty of discussion on different spoon forms and functions.

Friday AM
Friday PM
£35 7
Peter Kovacs

During this workshop I will walk you through how to create universal templates for spoons that will help you develop your own style.
We will introduce some techniques to allow for the realisation of your desired spoon. By tackling a few key areas on the spoon that really make or break the final look and function.

Friday AM £35 7
Robbie Vashak

Square shrinkpots with milk paint and spirit stain finishes

All Day Friday £70 ~
Samuel Alexander

Twca Cam Undercut Hollowing - essentially how to use the double edge twca cam and form the hollow to then take forward to carve into a cup.

Friday AM £35 6
Samuel Alexander

Axing Demo - Following on from the hollowing course, Samuel will demo his process for axing out a blank.

Friday PM £~ ~
Shannon Berry

Dive into the craft of frame basketry with this workshop focused on split hazel and willow. Whether you're a beginner or experienced maker, this course welcomes all skill levels. Learning heritage techniques to create baskets from natural materials. Connect with nature, discover traditional methods, and leave with your own handmade piece and a deeper appreciation for craft.

All Day Friday £70 8
Snowy Tree

Learn how to make practical and beautiful brushes for you home, workshop, car…

Friday AM
Friday PM
£35 5
Tutor Course Name: Click for details Time Price Places
Adam Ashworth

Etching sloyd knives

Saturday PM £50 6
Adam Hawker

A day of bowl carving with master craftsman 'Mr Precision'.

All day Saturday £70 ~
Aimee Bell

Spoon Holsters - for carrying your spoons!

Saturday AM £40 8
Ali Asardi

Plate turning on a pole lathe with renowned tutor Ali. Some physical fitness required.

All day Saturday £80 5
Amy Leake

Bowl or cup turning on a Pole Lathe with renowned tutor Amy Leake. Some physical fitness required.

All day Saturday £80 5
Anna Barker

From log to shrink pot - making a shrink pot with a fitted lid

All Day Saturday £65 6
Deborah Schneebeli Morrell

Finishing Cuts, How to make your spoon elegant and refined before burnishing and oiling. Bring a recently dried spoon that is nearly finished as well as a small finishing knife and we will finish it again!

Saturday PM £35 8
Diana Brook

Block printing. Devise, cut and print a unique design that might promote your brand or just be a beautiful creative experience. 3 hour sessions give plenty of time for prints, cards, totes, gift tags. Get lost in the process and love what you achieve

Saturday AM
Saturday PM
£35 10
Ellie Morgan

Bread basket for beginners - £4 additional charge to cover materials. Suitable for total beginners (including children 12+ if accompanied by an adult)

All day Saturday £35 9
Georg Schulte

Ginko leaf copper smithing for beginners

All Day Saturday £35 5
Jan Harm ter Brugge

A roundwood straight spoon in 5 clear steps (beginners/advanced)

Saturday AM
Saturday PM
£35 8
Jane Mickelborough

Learn how to create beautiful fan birds inspired by the Slavic tradition with renowned international tutor Jane.

Saturday AM £35 6
Lee John Phillips ProCreate for Spoons Saturday PM £~ ~
Maryanne McGinn

Learn Maryanne's elegant techniques using detail knives and gouges to enhance your wooden utensils.

Saturday AM £35 6
Mikey Elephant

Crank Works - Bored of flat spoons? Learn the mysterious art of the crank in this workshop whilst improving your axework.

Saturday AM £40 7
Mikey Elephant

Mini Spoons with Mikey - quick, fast and fun projects for when you only have a couple of hours but want to complete a whole project!

Saturday PM £40 7
Mr The Creature

Drop in session to learn to carve wooden beads - no need to book.

Saturday PM £10 ~
Mr The Creature

Carve and decorate a needle case with lid.

Saturday AM £35 10
Nic Westermann

Various options, from hollow grinding your own sloyd knife, or I grind it for you, to purchasing a new hollow ground sloyd blade. You will then be taught to hand sharpen the final edge when the all important hollow ground geometry is perfectly set up. We will then move on to sharpening flat bevel sloyds.

Saturday PM £45 10
Nico De Wispelaere

Dancing with the axe: You don't like the axe part of spooncarving? Or always have to much knifework left? Then this is the workshop you'll enjoy. We will focus on efficiency, but mostly dynamics. And how to axe more safely. During, you will get a confidence boost and become a real sloyd machine. You get: spoonblanks

Saturday AM £40 8
Oren Hetzeroni Forks Saturday PM £35 ~
Paul Adamson

Leaf Scoop carving. Carve a pair of short handled spoons great for supplying a table spoon sized measure of coffee, flour etc from one branch. We can have the option of carving the handle into a leaf pattern aiming to finish one scoop by the end of the session and for you to finish the other one around the festival or when home, if time runs out.

Saturday AM
Saturday PM
£35 7
Peter Kovacs

During this workshop we will design and carve a house totem, a small wall hanging wooden artifact that brings luck into your house.
We will learn some chip carving fundamentals and use milk paint to realise your ideas. I will guide you through some design and aesthetic key elements that you can apply in many treen projects.

Saturday AM £35 8
Rachel Bainton

Off the live edge with Rachel We'll create spreaders and spoons with a live-edge vibe. Leaning into asymmetry, and eschewing templates, we'll explore using curves to create forms. There will be time to make at least two utensils, and develop skills to make many more. Of course we'll also chat spoons and grips and wood, and probably fall down a couple of rabbit holes along the way. For improvers and confident beginners.

All Day Saturday £70 8
Robbie Vashak

Square shrinkpots with milk paint and spirit stain finishes

All day Saturday £70 ~
Samuel Alexander

Balancing Coffee Scoops - These are coffee scoops that balance and wobble on the ball of the back of the bowl like a wagtail bird! It's a fun little course. It'll start with hollowing a small coffee scoop bowl from a pre-adzed surface with the twca cam and then axe-ing the blank to find a balance point before carving a refining. Ideally aimed at those with some experience but those without will get there too.

Saturday AM £35 6
Samuel Alexander

Miniature Apple Sculptures - Feeling over spooned! It's a little, slow, tactile course to make little apple sculptures and a really fun way to tap into realism. We will be studying apple forms and asymmetry and looking at how to achieve this on a small offcut of wood.

Saturday PM £35 8
Shannon Berry

Dive into the craft of frame basketry with this workshop focused on split hazel and willow. Whether you're a beginner or experienced maker, this course welcomes all skill levels. Learning heritage techniques to create baskets from natural materials. Connect with nature, discover traditional methods, and leave with your own handmade piece and a deeper appreciation for craft.

All day Saturday £70 8
Snowy Tree

Learn how to make practical and beautiful brushes for you home, workshop, car…

Saturday AM £35 5

Spoontown – Timetable

Thursday 24th July 2025

Gates Open: 3pm – 8pm

Registration: Collect Your Wristband

Pitch up: Tent or Campervan

Induction: (8pm – 8.30pm)

Workshop Bookings: (8.30pm)

Friday 25th July 2025

Morning Workshop Session: 9am – 12pm

Afternoon Workshop Session: 2pm – 5pm

Tools down + Campfire + Music: 7pm

Saturday 26th July 2025

Morning Workshop Session: 9am – 12pm

Afternoon Workshop Session: 2pm – 5pm

Tools down + Campfire + Music: 7pm

Sunday 27th July 2025

A day to Chill and Carve

Group Photo: 10am – 10.30am

Craft Market: 10.30am

Spoon Circle: 12.30pm

Finish: 3pm

Site Closes: 4pm

Facilities

– Camping on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights (3 nights total)

– Parking included

– Area for Campervans (Offgrid)

– Compost toilets + Washing facilities

– Solar showers 

– Water supply

– Kettle constantly on the boil

– Free tea and coffee!

– “Spoon Fed” Food Van onsite for mealtimes at reasonable rates.

– Large selection of sustainably sourced fresh wood for carving

– Access to carving stumps

– Communal marquee

– Two evening fire pits

– Evening entertainment (largely of your own making) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights

– Skilled spoon carvers will be demonstrating during the event

– Pathcarvers: A space for your mental health to carve, drink tea, and talk or just be

– Sunday Morning Craft Market

And last but not least … lots of other Spoon Carving enthusiasts!

 

Spoontown - Firepit Nightime 2
Contact
admin@spoontown.co.uk