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Love HeartWood

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Love HeartWood, Unit 6A The Courtyard, Amners Farm, Reading.

Woodturning teacher & maker
Learn to create well-crafted things in wood
Hands-on courses & workshops
Berkshire, UK

🪵 specialism - sustainable wooden toys and homeware 🌳

08/06/2026

The best part was the people.

Despite the wind and rain on Saturday, we welcomed an incredible number of visitors over the weekend at The Base, Greenham Festival of Arts & Crafts. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the stand, watched a demonstration, asked questions, shared stories or simply came over to say hello.

A special thank you to the wonderful team at The Base. Their positivity, enthusiasm and support helped make the whole weekend such a pleasure.

Being positioned near the music stage was an unexpected bonus too. The quality of the musicians throughout the weekend was outstanding, creating a fantastic atmosphere for visitors and exhibitors alike.

One of the highlights for me was turning spinning tops for younger visitors. Seeing children become fascinated by a spinning piece of wood and watching their curiosity about woodturning emerge never gets old. A few showed real enthusiasm for the craft, which was wonderful to see.

It was also lovely to catch up with old friends and make new ones. A special hello to Tee from Bloom & Bear Studio, Jen from The Pine In The Valley - Handmade Jewellery and Sophie from Sadlers Woodhouse. It was great to meet the team from Hillside House Honey. Their locally produced beeswax candles are definitely something I’ll be exploring further.

Weekends like this remind me why I love being part of the craft community. Thank you for making it such an enjoyable couple of days.

05/06/2026

Tomorrow’s the day.

The work is finished, the tools are packed but this evening I’m still sorting out my storage and signage ready for The Base Festival of Arts & Crafts. I haven’t put the stock in the car yet, I hope it’ll fit!

If you’re looking for inspiration, a creative day out, or simply an excuse to browse beautiful handmade work, this event has so much to offer. Alongside over 50 artists and makers there are workshops, taster sessions, live music, food and plenty of opportunities to meet the people behind the work.

I’ll be there both days with live woodturning demonstrations, handmade wooden homeware, wooden toys and my newest collection of turned pieces.

Last year’s event was a highlight of my year and I can’t wait to do it all again.

If you’re visiting, please stop by and say hello. I’d love to show you what I’ve been working on.

See you this weekend at The Base, Greenham

Sat 6 & Sun 7 Jun, 10am - 4pm

Suggested donation: £2 per adult, £1 per child (under-5s free)

☀️ Kick-starting the two-week festival, a craft fair featuring 50+ stalls will surround The Base building, creating a bustling high street of high-quality crafters and artists for visitors to browse. As well as...

🎵 Live music

🍕 Delicious food and drink

🐾 Well behaved dogs on leads welcome (not in the Gallery though, sorry!) You can even get a Dog PAWtrait done!

🖍️ Plenty of free children’s activities - it’s the perfect day out for all ages!

🫟 Spray painting on Sunday

04/06/2026

Some commissions stay with you long after the last pass with the sandpaper.

These two large hollow vessels were commissioned by a Spanish only speaking priest preparing to leave for South America. His son acted as our go-between, translating the requirements and helping shape the brief. With departure dates already booked, there was no flexibility in the schedule and no room for mistakes.

The vessels began as large laminated blanks before being drilled and end grain hollowed. If you’ve ever hollowed seasoned end grain, you’ll know it demands patience, sharp tools and a willingness to create an astonishing amount of shavings. At times it felt like I’d never get to the end.

As the deadline approached, the pressure mounted. From the glue-up and drilling to the final fitting of the lids, there was very little margin for error.

It came right down to the wire, but seeing the finished vessels standing side by side made every challenge worthwhile.
Many thanks to Ben, Penny and Simon without whose advice and assistance I wouldn’t have completed this project.
This was a commission that tested both skill and patience— while at the same time reminding me why I love making bespoke things for people.

Not on the scale of your jobs but what d’you think, is there an easier way?

02/06/2026

Have you ever wondered how a wooden top is made?

This weekend at The Base Festival of Arts & Crafts, I’ll be giving live woodturning demonstrations of spinning tops and other things throughout both days.

It’s always fascinating watching a piece emerge from a block of timber, and demonstrations are a great opportunity to see the process up close, ask questions and learn a little more about the craft.

I’ll also be happy to chat about the woodturning courses I run here in Berkshire. Whether you’re completely new to woodturning or looking to develop your skills, feel free to stop by and ask anything you’d like to know.

One of my favourite parts of events like this is meeting people who are curious about making things with their hands and helping them discover that woodturning is far more accessible than they might think.

Come and say hello if you’re visiting.

01/06/2026

One of the reasons I love running children’s woodturning sessions is that they give young people the chance to make something real with their own hands.

Opportunities to learn practical craft skills seem to be becoming less common in schools, which is why I try to run at least one children’s session every school holiday and change the project each time to keep things fresh and exciting.

This half term’s challenge was pen turning, and despite the heat, Theo threw himself into the project with enthusiasm. From a simple block of wood to a finished pen, he did a fantastic job and you can see from his smile just how proud he was of what he’d made.

There’s something special about watching a child discover they can create something useful, beautiful and entirely their own.

The next children’s woodturning session will take place at the end of August, when we’ll be making wooden tea light holders.

If you think your child would enjoy learning a new skill, building confidence and creating something they can take home and use, click the link below for more information.

https://www.loveheartwood.co.uk/product/kids-woodturning-sessions/

30/05/2026

One week to go until The Base Festival of Arts & Crafts and I’m looking forward to being back for both days.

I’ve spent the past few months dividing my time between teaching courses and working on a brand-new collection of turned pieces. It’s the first new work I’ve created for some time, and I’m excited to share it.

I’ve also been working hard behind the scenes to improve my stall since last year’s event. Despite the wind and rain, I had a fantastic weekend in 2025 and came away with lots of ideas about how to make the display even better.

Alongside the new pieces, I’ll be bringing my other handmade wooden homeware and toys, all made from carefully selected timber and designed to be used, enjoyed and treasured.

If you’re planning to visit the festival, I’d love to know which pieces catch your eye.

See you next weekend.

28/05/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who visited during Open Studios this year.

It was such a pleasure to welcome people into the workshop, talk about woodturning courses, share ideas, and introduce my new collection of work — my first completely new body of work in a very long time. Thoroughly enjoyed all the conversations, encouragement, and curiosity from everyone who stopped by to say hello.

Thank you as well to my fellow Amners Farm exhibitors, Tom Cartmill and Gina Soden for your hard work and help making it such a good experience.

And thank you to Open Studios West Berkshire & North Hampshire and the team at The Base Greenham for hosting the flagship INSIGHT exhibition and supporting local artists and makers so brilliantly.

I’m leaving the event feeling inspired, grateful, and excited to continue developing this new collection further.

19/07/2025

Meet the Maker

It’s been a while so I’m reintroducing myself to my more recent followers.

Hello! I’m Liz – woodturner, former primary school teacher, and the creative soul behind Love Heartwood. I’m based in rural West Berkshire, working from my workshop based on a local horse farm where I teach, take commissions and turn homewares and toys from locally-sourced, sustainable wood.
www.loveheartwood.co.uk

I discovered turning completely by accident.
After a decade teaching young children, I swapped the classroom for Central St. Martin’s, earning a BA in Product Design. It was there that I fell head over heels for turning. Though I graduated in 2008, it wasn’t until the summer of 2013—ironically, the day before my wedding—that I finally got my own lathe. My husband teased me that we’d set it up on our honeymoon… and, yes, we did!

I find turning endlessly fascinating and stimulating but at the same time very meditative and grounding. I liken it to tai chi, not that I’ve ever done that, but it’s the mix of your mental and physical effort combining which makes it deeply rewarding.
Is this what you love about turning or is it something completely different? I’d love to know.

18/07/2025

I’ve arrived!

I moved into my unit on the farm back in February, but it’s only with the erecting of the aluminium road signs at the farm entrance that I feel that I’ve really arrived.

Massive thanks to for their help. They made the ordering process really quick and simple. 👍
Also thanks to my youngest (swipe left), whose school broke up for the summer holidays today, and came along to help get them in just the right places and then take the obligatory photo.

Address

Unit 6A The Courtyard, Amners Farm
Reading
RG303UE

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 3pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 3pm
Wednesday	9am - 3pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9:30am - 3pm

Telephone

+447897998586

Website

https://www.loveheartwood.co.uk/, https://www.loveheartwood.co.uk/product-category/woodturning-courses/, https://www.lov

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