Brian Goodwin
http://www.briangoodwin.co.uk
Brian Goodwin started turning bobbins in 1985 when his wife, Angela, took up lacemaking. Later he started to sell bobbins to Angela’s lace group. Brian started his wood turning business in 1995 after being made redundant. As well as bobbins he makes lovely divider pins, pillow accessories and pillow stands.
Brian’s bobbins have plump thistle beads and found tails, typically with incised bands in the collar and bands on the tail. Some if his bobbins have transfer prints or are pyrographed. His long necked bobbins are especially useful for large projects.
Brian Goodwin started turning bobbins in 1985 when his wife, Angela, took up lacemaking. Later he started to sell bobbins to Angela’s lace group. Brian started his wood turning business in 1995 after being made redundant. As well as bobbins he makes lovely divider pins, pillow accessories and pillow stands.
Brian’s bobbins have plump thistle beads and found tails, typically with incised bands in the collar and bands on the tail. Some if his bobbins have transfer prints or are pyrographed. His long necked bobbins are especially useful for large projects.
Our Start in Lacemaking (from Brian's website)
It all started in 1985. After our second child had started school, Angela, my wife, was looking for a hobby to occupy her new found spare time. She found an advert in the local paper for Lacemaking classes and, thinking this would be something different, decided to give it a try for one morning a week. Little did we know then what effect this was to have on our lives!
Angela quickly became engrossed in Lacemaking and I, not wanting to be left out thought that I would try and make one of those "sticks" she was using. Not having a lathe, I disappeared into the garage and built one out of some pulleys and an old electric motor. After many hours of toil, unnoticed by Angela, who was too preoccupied with her pillow, I proudly produced my first bobbin. Not much shape to it, and what if it was a bit fat, at least this one had stayed in one piece!
Over the years Angela became more and more involved in Lacemaking, So much so, that one year whilst on holiday, we even left a canal boat in Rugby to pay an unannounced visit to the Springetts' house, so that she could buy some different bobbins - sorry Christine and David.
My own efforts at bobbin making had now improved enough to warrant the purchase of a proper lathe and, with this new found toy, the garage was converted into a workshop.
I began to get adventurous, trying other items such as fruit and mushrooms, passing them off to unsuspecting friends as gifts. They soon started to get their own back by bringing me bits of wood from their gardens. Angela could also often be seen struggling home with pieces of timber scrounged from local gardeners and tree surgeons. One friend in particular travelled a lot, and often brought small pieces of wood back from exotic locations, together with tales of how they had been whittled down over a gin and tonic. Or in one case, how a pair of trousers had been bartered for a piece of African blackwood! Angela's pillow now has many bobbins that I have turned, each with their own story, some from wood brought from the Sugar Loaf Mountain and even the Garden of Gethsemane!
The turning point (sorry, no pun intended) was when some of Angela's Lacemaking friends started asking for my things. They even offered to pay - a real boost to the ego!
Angela started taking my items to her Lace Group, returning with various suggestions such as "it would be nice if one of these did this?" or "could you make something to do that?" Slowly my range grew and I became a regular attender of the local Lace Group, getting first hand feed back and suggestions. My workshop equipment was steadily growing to the extent that I had to build a car port and relegate the car to an outside existence - all this in the name of Lacemaking!
I was now trying my hand at more unusual items. I used to work in telecommunications, and when some of my staff were leaving, I decided to give them something different as a keepsake. I contacted the BT museum and managed to borrow a candlestick telephone which I measured and photographed in order to create an authentic reproduction in wood. The project was a great success and they were well received. (I now produce them in various sizes as part of my craft range.)
Things were bobbin' along quite nicely until, out of the blue, I was made redundant. After much soul searching, I took the plunge and started my own woodturning business in January 1995.
I decided to build on our knowledge of lacemaking and not to concentrate solely on bobbins, but to offer a range of quality hand crafted items for the Lacemaker. I have tried to offer a balance of luxury items, such as Pillow Stands, Lacemaking Lamps and Bobbin Carousels for displaying prized bobbins, with some more unusual items such as Bobbin Tidies and Pin Tubs. That's not to say that I don't make bobbins, as well as those in polished wood, I produce some with pyrographed pictures of local interest - ask me about the one with a picture of Harrogate Cathedral, but that's another story! I welcome "one offs" and have even been asked to make some bobbins out of a pair of chopsticks!
I used to travel a lot in my old job, so driving to all parts of the country for Lace Days is not a problem, it just means that our friends and relations now see more of us - for B & B! My portable lathe always creates an interest, many Lacemakers never having seen how a bobbin is made. I can even offer "Bobbins While You Wait". Sometimes the demonstration turns into a clinic when I am asked to try and repair or modify a treasured item.
All in all life is now quite hectic, with production during the week and Lace Days at the weekend, as well as trying to fit in the restoration of our bungalow and garden. Just think, it all started with "just one morning a week"!
The big question must be "Have I got any regrets?" Financially it has been a backward step, but personally, I can honestly say that I have never been happier - doing what I enjoy, with the satisfaction of seeing my efforts well received by an appreciative audience.
It all started in 1985. After our second child had started school, Angela, my wife, was looking for a hobby to occupy her new found spare time. She found an advert in the local paper for Lacemaking classes and, thinking this would be something different, decided to give it a try for one morning a week. Little did we know then what effect this was to have on our lives!
Angela quickly became engrossed in Lacemaking and I, not wanting to be left out thought that I would try and make one of those "sticks" she was using. Not having a lathe, I disappeared into the garage and built one out of some pulleys and an old electric motor. After many hours of toil, unnoticed by Angela, who was too preoccupied with her pillow, I proudly produced my first bobbin. Not much shape to it, and what if it was a bit fat, at least this one had stayed in one piece!
Over the years Angela became more and more involved in Lacemaking, So much so, that one year whilst on holiday, we even left a canal boat in Rugby to pay an unannounced visit to the Springetts' house, so that she could buy some different bobbins - sorry Christine and David.
My own efforts at bobbin making had now improved enough to warrant the purchase of a proper lathe and, with this new found toy, the garage was converted into a workshop.
I began to get adventurous, trying other items such as fruit and mushrooms, passing them off to unsuspecting friends as gifts. They soon started to get their own back by bringing me bits of wood from their gardens. Angela could also often be seen struggling home with pieces of timber scrounged from local gardeners and tree surgeons. One friend in particular travelled a lot, and often brought small pieces of wood back from exotic locations, together with tales of how they had been whittled down over a gin and tonic. Or in one case, how a pair of trousers had been bartered for a piece of African blackwood! Angela's pillow now has many bobbins that I have turned, each with their own story, some from wood brought from the Sugar Loaf Mountain and even the Garden of Gethsemane!
The turning point (sorry, no pun intended) was when some of Angela's Lacemaking friends started asking for my things. They even offered to pay - a real boost to the ego!
Angela started taking my items to her Lace Group, returning with various suggestions such as "it would be nice if one of these did this?" or "could you make something to do that?" Slowly my range grew and I became a regular attender of the local Lace Group, getting first hand feed back and suggestions. My workshop equipment was steadily growing to the extent that I had to build a car port and relegate the car to an outside existence - all this in the name of Lacemaking!
I was now trying my hand at more unusual items. I used to work in telecommunications, and when some of my staff were leaving, I decided to give them something different as a keepsake. I contacted the BT museum and managed to borrow a candlestick telephone which I measured and photographed in order to create an authentic reproduction in wood. The project was a great success and they were well received. (I now produce them in various sizes as part of my craft range.)
Things were bobbin' along quite nicely until, out of the blue, I was made redundant. After much soul searching, I took the plunge and started my own woodturning business in January 1995.
I decided to build on our knowledge of lacemaking and not to concentrate solely on bobbins, but to offer a range of quality hand crafted items for the Lacemaker. I have tried to offer a balance of luxury items, such as Pillow Stands, Lacemaking Lamps and Bobbin Carousels for displaying prized bobbins, with some more unusual items such as Bobbin Tidies and Pin Tubs. That's not to say that I don't make bobbins, as well as those in polished wood, I produce some with pyrographed pictures of local interest - ask me about the one with a picture of Harrogate Cathedral, but that's another story! I welcome "one offs" and have even been asked to make some bobbins out of a pair of chopsticks!
I used to travel a lot in my old job, so driving to all parts of the country for Lace Days is not a problem, it just means that our friends and relations now see more of us - for B & B! My portable lathe always creates an interest, many Lacemakers never having seen how a bobbin is made. I can even offer "Bobbins While You Wait". Sometimes the demonstration turns into a clinic when I am asked to try and repair or modify a treasured item.
All in all life is now quite hectic, with production during the week and Lace Days at the weekend, as well as trying to fit in the restoration of our bungalow and garden. Just think, it all started with "just one morning a week"!
The big question must be "Have I got any regrets?" Financially it has been a backward step, but personally, I can honestly say that I have never been happier - doing what I enjoy, with the satisfaction of seeing my efforts well received by an appreciative audience.