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Barn the Spoon, Spoon Carver

November 13, 2012
by the gentle author

Barnaby Carder – widely known as Barn the Spoon – sits in the window at 260 Hackney Rd carving spoons for eight hours at a stretch. He sees the rush hour go one way and then he sees the rush hour go the other way, and in between friends pop in for a chat.

All this time Barn whittles away placidly, surrounded by an ever-growing tide of wood shavings as his pile of completed spoons increases. “I can’t imagine a life without making spoons,” he admitted to me when I sat down beside him yesterday while he worked, “I made my first spoon twelve years ago and now I’m addicted to making spoons. When I’ve made a good spoon I feel good within myself, but a good spoon doesn’t happen very often  – maybe once a day. It’s a beautiful thing.”

In one sense – sitting here in the Hackney Rd in an area formerly renowned for its woodworking industry – this is natural place for Barn to be yet, in another sense, it is entirely un-natural because, given the choice, Barn would rather be out working in the greenwood. “Thirty-five years ago, all the guys who were doing this were dying out but thankfully it is being reborn,” he explained to me, “My great teachers have been old spoons, they’re full of information. I can look at any spoon made anywhere in the world and I know what tools have been used to make it. The stuff I do is really folksy and it goes back a long way.”

It all started for Barn when he was thirteen and his neighbour, who was a woodturner, taught him how to make bowls. “I really enjoyed it,” Barn recalled, “And I’ve done a lot of woodwork with twentieth century machines in the past, but I let go of it because it wasn’t right. People have got lost because of the industrial revolution when machines were designed to replace skills and it took away the dignity of the worker.” Instead, Barn did an apprenticeship with Mike Abbott, a greenwood chair maker in Herefordshire. “I learnt you don’t need a workshop, you can work outdoors,” Barn enthused, “The beauty of greenwood work is a deeper relationship with the material. I cut down the trees that need to be removed for the sustainability of the forest, chop them into sections, split them when they’re green, and then work them into spoons with an axe and a knife.”

After his apprenticeship, Barn tramped around the shires for three years, carrying his tools in a backpack, sleeping in the woods and carving spoons from timber growing there. “It’s the dignity of being able to make your own living. All I had in my life were my skills, but it has worked out for me.” he confided with a quiet smile of satisfaction. Lacking navigational abilities, Barn walked along canals thereby avoiding getting lost, and ending up in cities where he could find a market for his spoons. After street selling with a pedlar’s licence in the East End, Barn saved enough money to open his tiny shop three weeks ago. He has found a way to bring his greenwood skills into the city, teaching in a school a couple of days a week and using timber harvested from Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park to make his spoons. Becoming an evangelist of traditional spoon carving, Barn co-founded Spoonfest an international gathering of spoon carvers each summer in a wood in Edale.

Barn operates in a vernacular tradition, working quickly to produce vigorous carving – creating functional objects of obvious utility and grace but that do not draw attention to their design. Starting with a twisted chunk of green wood – sycamore, birch, alder, cherry, french maple, hazel or willow – split from a tree, he places it on his block and chips away quickly with breathtaking confidence, using a razor-sharp axe to shape the outline of the spoon while chatting playfully all the time. “The function, the tools and the material create the design,” he revealed, taking out his knife, “The ones I get excited about are the Roma spoons where you know they’ve bashed out a lot of spoons, and I prefer those to the pricey ones produced by craftworkers, because they show an empathy with the material that others can only dream of.”

The next stage of the work is centred around carving the bowl and for this Barn uses a semi-circular-bladed knife to create a smooth surface which makes the spoon pleasant to eat from. Snatching up a couple from the pile on the bench, he showed me the two designs he prefers at present – one based on the Roma spoon with a flat handle in which there is a notch between the handle and the bowl, and another with an octagonal handle in which the neck connects smoothly to the bowl. “I’ve spent a lot of time making spoons,” Barn said, thinking out loud as he contemplated his handiwork, “I sit here for eight hours a day and what I’m thinking about is the shape of the spoon. They’re so completely fascinating to make. I could talk about spoons for hours. I would consider it an insult if somebody doesn’t use my spoon.”

Much to my delight, when I told Barn the Spoon about the former industry of woodworking in Shoreditch, he contradicted me. “But it’s all coming back,” he declared, “And with a passion.”

[youtube rmMVi_1WRU0 nolink]

Visit Barn the Spoon at 260 Hackney Rd, E2 7SJ. (10am-5pm, Friday-Tuesday)

You may also like to read about

Maurice Franklin, Wood Turner

Hugh Wedderburn, Master Wood Carver

Dave Thompson, Joiner

24 Responses leave one →
  1. November 13, 2012

    oh this makes my heart sing!
    beautiful!

  2. Hari from Canada permalink
    November 13, 2012

    Wonderful article – it is a joy to hear of Barn’s sense of peace with himself, his trade, his ecological footprint – a truly happy person is a hard one to find!

  3. November 13, 2012

    What joy this post and how spooky, I’ve just been eyeing up a local wood whittling spoon making course. Must be something in the air!

  4. Viv permalink
    November 13, 2012

    How do we buy them if we don’t live in London?

  5. the gentle author permalink*
    November 13, 2012

    You can email barnthespoon@hotmail.co.uk to buy spoons by mail order

  6. November 13, 2012

    I really must visit Barn the Spoon, as spoons are rather my thing. Whenever I visit a new country, I try to bring back a handmade wooden spoon.It’s a lovely and oddly intimate thing to use it in my London kitchen. Thank you for such a wonderful talk last night and I’m so happy you liked the biscuits.

  7. Sally Baldwin permalink
    November 13, 2012

    I loved this. Recently saw a man at out local farmer’s market who was carving spoons while his wife sold the produce. I’m printing this story out to take to him. And gee I wish there were a spoon-carving course locally — 75 isn’t too late to take it up, is it?

  8. Mary permalink
    November 13, 2012

    I am coming tomorrow to buy spoons for Christmas presents. What’s the nearest tube station?

  9. the gentle author permalink*
    November 13, 2012

    Bethnal Green and Old St are the nearest tube stations.

  10. November 13, 2012

    Thank you for another charming post. I understand that the piece of wood determines the shape of the spoon. Just like a block of marble determines what sort of sculpture it will become. It requires a master craftsman to set it free, like Barn.

  11. George Lloyd permalink
    November 13, 2012

    He sounded a lot less rustic than I expected,which was good!

  12. November 13, 2012

    Wonderful craft!The women in family had each their own spoons for different tasks my grandmother’s were fearsome sometimes a weapon for naughty children! It would be too much to hope for it to be sold on line? Thanks for continuing your craft! Antonia

  13. Rowena Macdonald permalink
    November 14, 2012

    I saw Barn the Spoon in the Guardian Weekend a few months back. He sounds like a real character. Really nice post.

  14. sandra longley permalink
    November 17, 2012

    Once you have used a Barn spoon nothing else compares, keep spooning.

  15. January 21, 2013

    Beautiful post, beautiful character and a truly inspirational story. Thanks for the share!

    Novice spoonmaker

    Maarten

  16. January 30, 2013

    I’m reading this in Cyprus and wishing i could pay Barn a visit. What fabulous products..I wonder if mail-order purchasing is possible?

  17. Carmen permalink
    March 30, 2013

    Coming to London in May…gotta visit Barn! Beautiful work.

  18. Michelle permalink
    March 30, 2013

    Hi Barn, I bought one of your spoons when you were carving them in Bristol near the museum, about a year ago, I think you said it’s elm, but I can’t remember exactly … I use it every day when cooking my porridge (!) and have just signed up for a spoon whittling course. Lovely to read your website, good luck with your projects.

  19. Kay permalink
    April 27, 2013

    Bran, I loved the video demonstration. I understand having a favorite wooden spoon! I will be in London in May and would love to purchase one of your spoons. Could you please give me a price range, so I will be prepared!

  20. the gentle author permalink*
    April 28, 2013

    Kay, Barn charges £15 for most of his spoons.

  21. Bob permalink
    August 28, 2013

    Just heard Barney on ‘Midweek, Radio 4’. SO inspiring and refreshing an attitude. I was desperate to see what he and Libby were looking at… beautiful ! The studio looks like a beautiful cocoon… I can imagine the scent and sense of wood is ingrained (sorry)!

  22. Nancy Clark permalink
    June 7, 2014

    Following my fathers paternal family line back from London to Northamptonshire, to the small village of Kings Cliffe – once known as the wooden spoon village. Their wares were dispersed around the country via the tinkers who called in to collect, and then moved on. His maternal line lived around Spitalfields and Bethnal Green. So it was lovely to read and watch the video clip of Barn whittling his spoon.

  23. February 24, 2015

    I just decided to try to make a spoon and ran onto your website . I am REALLY impressed with what you can do with a hatchet . Keep up the good work and I hope to touch base with you once in a while . I live in Salmon , Idaho ,USA and have whittled for over 60 years . I still can’t figure how I never came onto a spoon before . Most of my work involves carving wild animals . Take care and keep up the good work . Dan

  24. September 30, 2019

    I have known Barn for long years. A genuine country craftsman. Strange somehow to see him in the City The wood is not a commodity to him, It’s a friend. Say hello if passing. Hope my vibes reach him now and again. Blessings Barn. Pal Ralph.

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