Chest of Drawers Challenge

This is my very first custom made chest of drawers and I although it was a little complicated, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and think it came out extremely well.

Whilst I have made many cupboards and cabinets and I have made drawers to fit in to cupboards or into gaps in kitchens and bedroom I have never made a complete unit from scratch.

The request came from one of my regular clients that has recently moved into an apartment having just moved out from a three bedroom house.  The brief was to make it fit into a tight space and have as much storage as possible, hence the six drawers.  I chose to make the carcass is made from 9mm Malaysian plywood, the frame from ripped down reclaimed pine floor boards and the drawers from a combination of reclaimed pine and 3mm ply from a double wardrobe I recently stripped down

Making furniture to fit in limited spaces and general storage solutions are one of the key functions of Good With Wood (Stroud) so if you need a bespoke piece of furniture or have an unusual space to fill please send me a message or email and I can come over and discuss your needs

Rustic Kitchen Roll Holders

Small projects can be fun too. Whilst at Stroud Farmers Market I was asked if I had any of these and as I had not yet attempted to make any I said not at the moment but I will have some by the next market. So I went of to the workshop and made a couple of proto-types and sold them both. Now that I know that there is a potential market for them I had added the to my market stock.  

These kitchen roll holders are made from reclaimed floor boards and broom handles. The tongues and grooves are ripped from the boards and then sanded, but as they are old solid pine from the 60s they retain their patina.  

If you would like to enhance your kitchen (or like in my case workshop) with one of these very handy accessories please let me know or pop by to one of my regular markets at Stroud, Cirencester, Cheltenham or Tewksbury and pick one up

Wall Mounted Kitchen Plate Rack

One of the best things about being out and about doing market stalls is that you meet lots of interesting people that turn out to be prospective clients. I am often asked about my bespoke service and within days of the event I receive emails requesting quotes to create one off items. 

This 12 Slot  wall mounted plate rack was one such request.  The brief was to build a rack that could either sit on a counter or be mounted on a kitchen wall and be capable of holding up to 12 large dinner plate.  I build this rack from some leftover 20cm spruce shelving planks and some dowels I had left over from some pantry pockets and spice racks I build earlier in the year.  The client requested that they be varnished to withstand the wear and tear of a busy country kitchen and so I suggested a light oak satin varnish. 

I could not be happier with how this came out and I am very much looking forward to seeing what she thinks of it when she sees it.

Please let me know if you are interested in having a bespoke handmade plate rack or any other project that you may have in mind

Hall Shelves for Everyone

One of the more popular items on my weekly market stalls are the various hall shelves and coat hooks.

They are all made using reclaimed wood generally from pieces of unwanted furniture with wood ranging from oak, cedar, spruce to pine. The hooks are all forged from steel and I often have up to 5 different styles. 

This means that you can either come to the stall and buy one that I have already made or you can email or text me with the dimensions of the space that you wish to fit them and I let you know which hooks I have available. Once you have made your selection and agreed on the overall layout  I will make a set especially for you which you can collect at the next market in your area, come over and pick them up directly from the workshop in Chalford Hill or I can deliver them next time I am in your area.  

These are the four styles I currently have in stock

Made To Measure

One of Good With Wood (Stroud)’s main functions is build made to measure storage solutions. Today’s project is exactly that.  A Client approached me whilst at the Stroud Farmers Market last month and asked about this service. He was after a kitchen cupboard that could be made to fit into an unused window recess in the recently upgrade kitchen. The aim was to make it match with the rest of the décor in the lovely Victorian terrace house.  I was supplied with the dimensions for the cupboard and together we worked out the design based on some of my previous cabinets along with the intended function. I was able to build a cupboard that not only fitted the recess but also had the correct shelf spacing to store exactly what the client wanted.  

I was very please with the results but even more so when I arrived at their house to discover that it was a great match for not only the kitchen but the rest of the house.

The frame of the cupboard was make from left over spruce furniture boards from a previous job, the doors and decorative top came from an old unwanted fold leave table and the tongue and grove back came from an old dresser.

If you have an unusual space to fit or require alternative storage solutions why not try the made to measure method, it can be a lot more cost effective than you think

Local Neighbourhood Trug Dealer

 

After the last couple of weekends worth of very busy and successful local craft markets I am now very busy replacing stock of one of my best selling items, the humble Garden Trug. These are extremely popular and often sell out, they are very useful around the garden and a must for the avid allotmenteer.

They are made completely from reclaimed wood, the sides are cut from reclaimed pallet wood, the slats are generally 9mm shuttering ply left over from current projects but other plywood has been used, the handle is made from a tree branch, which are windfalls from either the back garden or the local woods.

These sell for £12 each and can always be found on my market stall or via my Etsy shop for a little bit more to cover the postage.

Three of a kind

When I am not on site I have my work truck parked on the corner of our property in Chalford Hill, Stroud. We live on the corner of a quiet road opposite a huge play park with amazing views across the valley. Well since having the company name added to my truck last year I occasionally receive work requests from locals who have seen it parked up.

Jon from Quay Street Diner in Bristol is a Chalford resident, saw my truck and contacted me to see if I would be able to make three large planters on casters for the outdoor eating area of the diner.  I was happy to oblige and had soon constructed them using 150mm gravel boards (designed for the bottom of fences) as they are hardy and rot resistant making them ideal for the job.  

I was happy to delivery them in my VW T25 transporter as I was  keen to check out the Diner. Which is in the heart of Bristol, famed for its street art and only a minutes walk to the harbour. It is a cool Californian style diner themed around its sunny surf and skateboard culture with amazing open grilled food, amazing burgers, tasty coffee, cold beer and yummy cocktails. 

Now that the planters have been filled with plants and are in place here as some more photos

 

 

Quay Street Diner Info:

https://www.quaystreetdiner.co.uk/

2 Quay St, Bristol BS1 2HF

Don’t Pigeon Hole Me

One of this weeks projects was to build a set of wall mounted pigeon holes to house a collection of cats.  I decided to use pallet wood for the job and added brass label frames and brass wall hangers. I enjoyed making them so much that I was inspired to make another slightly larger set for my workshop and I will make another set to take to the Arts and Crafts market at Tewkesbury this Sunday to see if I should add them to my regular product range

Ever Expanding Business

    

Extending the Good With Wood (Stroud) Workshop

As business continues to grow so does the need for more workshop space. To be sure that there will be sufficient space to build even the largest of projects, the extension increases the space by over 5 square metres. Its all been made for reclaimed wood and the windows came from my old house, the new owners removed the wooden windows to put in new UVPC windows so they were happy to let me have a couple.

I have also been busy inside re-arranging the existing fittings and creating ding some of the new benches, shelves and pigeon holes all from reclaimed wood from my woodstore.

As the weather warms up I will be attending many more markets in Stroud, Cirencester, Cheltenham, Tewksbury and Frome so it won’t be long before its buzzing with activity.

Beer Caddies Back in Stock

After a busy weekend at the Stroud Farmers market I completely sold out of 6 bottle beer caddies so I have been busy today making 3 more ready for the Cirencester Craft Market this Saturday. If you can’t make it to the market this weekend but missed out last Saturday don’t worry, I will have make some more for the Stroud Farmers market on the 24th April or let me know via email or my contact page.

Mobile 07775516244
Email martin@goodwithwoodstroud.co.uk