52 Weeks 52 Bowls Project

Aim: To make a wooden bowl each week for a year from a different UK grown wood.

Inspiration: I was inspired by some spoon carver friends who just completed a project to make a different spoon each week for a year. However, I’ve made it harder for myself by having to source different woods for each bowl!

Reason: To celebrate the wonderful array of different woods we can grow in the UK, and to help both myself, and the woodworking community in general, to better understand their properties.

Unexpected outcomes: A wonderful collection of stories about the relationships in the green woodworking community. Almost all these bowls have come from different sources and usually involve a fair amount of generosity on the part of the tree provider. It has made me release how much I love this group of crafters, foresters, artisans and hobbyists. It ha also been brillaint for me to hold onto a whole year’s worth of work, once all this is done, I look forward to sitting and analysing how my turning has changed over this year. This is something I often feel happening, but rarely get the chance to see. When the project finishes in early 2023, the plan currently is to take these on a little tour of places across the UK to publicise the project. I’m undecided how (or if) to sell them yet.

If interested, please follow along on Instagram at #52weeks52bowls and @geoffhannis

Tree Countdown: 0 Trees to find, but please let me know if you find a wood not on my list, as the project will continue beyond today!

I am still yet to source enough different wood-types for this project, as you can imagine this is quite tricky! I am looking for pieces at least 3 inches in diameter and preferably straight without knots. The following is a list of trees which if you are a home or forest owner and have one of the following trees cut or fall down please do let me know! Equally if you are a tree surgeon, please let us know if you are asked to cut one of these! I am sure I have missed some too! Thanks! 🙂

  • Maidenhair (Gingko)
  • Magnolia
  • Sumac
  • Blackthorn
  • Damson
  • Buckthorn (Alder or Purging)
  • Guelder Rose
  • Smokebush
  • Mahonia (Oregon Grape)
  • Berberis
  • Hickory
  • Wingnut
  • Keaki (Zelkova)
  • Almond
  • Loquat
  • Oleaster
  • Thuja
  • Hackberry
  • Handkerchief Tree (Dove Tree)
  • Gorse
  • Olive
  • Raoul

The following trees are at the workshop, either turned and drying, or will be turned in the coming weeks:

  • rose, buddleia, eucalyptus, monkey puzzle.

These are the 39 bowls already turned and made public:

  • hawthorn, oak, spindle, dogwood, birch, holly, bay, tree of heaven, tulip, hornbeam, elm, sea buckthorn, elder, apple, mulberry, pine, hazel, arbutus (pictured), plane, ash, sorbus, sycamore, horse chestnut, beech, lime, catalpa, alder, cypress, robinia, box, fig, pear, amelanchier, cotoneaster, pittosporum, labernum, garrya elliptica, maple, lilac, sweet chestnut, walnut, yew, golden rain, fan palm, laurel, judas tree, plum, cedar, cherry, black poplar