Hand Carved Wooden Bowls and Objects for the Home

There is a certain je ne sais quoi to the hand carved wooden bowls of self-taught English woodcarver Nic Webb who is making a splash in the design world with his bowls, vessels and spoons. Working primarily with green wood that allows for greater surprises in shape and color as the wood seasons, Web also works with stoneware, porcelain and metals, sometimes alone, sometimes incorporating them into his simple function wood objects.

As an experimental artist, Webb has an organic approach to his trade, allowing the materials and ideas to dictate the form of the object. He utilizes traditional tools like axes, chip-knives and spokeshaves to create objects that resonate today. And one of the things I find particularly cool is that some of these tools were used by his great, great, grandfather, a carpenter back in the 19^th century. What a delightful way of continuing a family heritage.

His stoneware and porcelain bowls (above) are awesome – I love the gnarliness of the outside paired with a more elegant refined inside and yet his signature pieces like the spoons (main image) and Fire Bowl – below – (burnt and sealed with natural wax on one side and highly polished and coated with wax on the outside which takes about 35 hours) are equally attractive.

Imagine how apropos and fabulous a kitchen displaying a collection of his carved wooden spoons would look. Or a “simple” Fire Bowl perched atop some books decorating a cocktail table. And because you’re not layering hundreds of these on one place, any look can take Webb’s hand carved wooden bowls – a BohoChic, Wabi Sabi, Scandi, or City Glam aesthetic. The décor possibilities are endless.