Wood carving is one of the oldest arts of humankind. Wooden spears from the Middle Paleolithic, such as the Clacton Spear, reveal how humans have engaged in functional woodwork for millennia.  The earliest three dimensional figure yet found is thought to have been carved around 2500 B.C.

The craft of wood carving is as well loved now as it ever was and we have been delighted to work on some fabulous commissions for our customers to really personalise their swing seat or garden bench.

Sometimes the carving will be as simple as a few words, right up to a full blown quote such as this one from TS Eliot which was wound along a four seater swirl back quite a few years ago and remains one of our all time favourite quotes that we have carved….

"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time"

Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic 

Albus Dumbledore (J. K. Rowling)

Of course, carvings are often more complex than words and frequently feature a favourite flower or adored animal. 

Recently we were asked to carve some dragonflies and simple flowers on a seat back, our customer wasn’t sure exactly how she wanted these, so we produced various images for her to look at and suggest “tweaks” until we arrived at a layout that she was thrilled with and the carving proceeded.  You can see the finished piece above in the main photo.

Whether the garden swing seat or bench is for yourself, or as a gift, the addition of a personal carving can make it a really unique purchase, one to treasure for many years, and perhaps pass down in the family.

We are happy to work with our customers to develop their ideas for carved messages or images so that their swing seat or bench is as individual as they are. We have perfected a system of approval, prior to the actual carving commencing,  so that the customer gets exactly what they want.

We love this process and often get very involved in it, finding images for customers, or working with them on ones they have seen themselves and love, developing the seeds of an idea into something they absolutely fall in love with.  There is also something very tactile about sitting on your swing seat or bench, and gently touching the finished carving, this can be a really special & magical moment when our customer first receives their commission, then watching the carving mellow in hue as time progresses.

Do talk to us about your ideas, every piece we make is unique, and if we can make it even more so with a beautiful and unusual carving, we’d love to get involved with you on producing something that will hopefully take your breath away, as it often does, as we have learnt from experience, do read the two stories below.

Read a touching story about the meaning of one of our bronze carvings.

Or you can find out more about our Memorial Benches

If you would like to contribute a guest blog, please contact Siobhan at siobhan@sittingspiritually.co.uk