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Commissions
Whether it is a piece of furniture to celebrate a special occassion such as a Christening, Wedding, Anniversary or 1st Christmas - or a one off piece for your home or garden, we can design and make your bespoke furniture in a choice of woods and finishes.
Courses
Little Acorn Furniture offers courses in Green Woodworking and rustic furniture making ranging from one to five days in duration. No experience is needed and families are welcome so come along and learn some new skills whilst having a great time.

Our Courses

Family “greenwood” experience
Alasdair will take you through the basic principles of Green Woodworking and provide the knowledge, tools and materials needed to get you using a pole lathe. Turn as many items as you like using a variety of local hard woods and unlock the full potential of this ancient craft.
Introduction to pole lathing
During this one or two day course, you will get to practice the principles of green woodworking: cleaving and shaping the wood using side axe and draw knife before turning on a pole lathe to produce a range of items - as long as it is round!
Simply stools
This two-day course offers you the chance to produce a simple three or four legged stool with hard wood top and turned or draw knifed legs.
From tree to table
This three day course gives you time to produce a table or bench with stretchered legs using more advanced techniques. The addition of stretchers between the legs allows you to make larger items with more refinement.
Table making course
This four-day course gives you time to explore the intricacies of green wood furniture design to produce a dramatic and unique piece of furniture of your own design.
Chair making course
Over this full four day course you will make and assemble a complete chair from local Ash and Beech. Choosing from one of two traditional designs you will be responsible for shaping all components and joining therm using traditional wedged mortice and tenon joints
Make your own shaving horse
In order to make a traditional shaving horse you will need a pole lathe, in order to use a pole lathe a shaving horse is essential. Get around this catch 22 situation by making your very own shaving horse over two days in Alasdair's fully equipped Greenwood workshop.
Handle making and tool restoration
This is a one day course aimed at giving you the basic knowledge and skills required to make a tool handle of any sore from green Ash. Be it an axe, hammer, chisel or spade you can restore personalise and bring back to life any old tool. We will go back to the days when things were done 'proper' and a tool handle could last a lifetime of use.
Cleft hurdle gate making
Discover the ancient art of gate making using authentic traditional tools and techniques. Using the true nature of the wood to ensure both beauty and strength, start with a freshly cut log and explore the entire process of cleaving , shaping and jointing.
One-to-one tuition
Work and learn at your own pace - receive uninterrupted expert tuition in the art of green wood furniture making and have exclusive access to the range of hardwoods available in the workshop.

What our customer’s say…

Took 5 children along to learn carpentry. They all had an amazing time, each made a sword and a baseball bat (their choice). They did everyhthing from sawing the wood to shaping it. Alisdair was so good with them and made sure they each left with finished items. My son who has ADHD was engaged from the start and cannot wait to go again. The parents also had a go and really enjoyed the day too.

Elaine Russell

What a great way to spend a day. This was my first foray into the field of working with green wood and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I attended the introduction to pole lathing course along with four other keen participants. Alasdair and Simon were brilliant teachers – enthusiastic, knowledgeable and patient. Over a period of 6 hours a tree trunk of ash was turned into an assortment of beautiful wooden items to take home. I would highly recommend the course and will be booking again in the future.

Jan Wells

Wonderful work on a commission for a special birthday. Documented and photographed from start with cutting the wood, making the top and legs to assembling and final polishing. If you want something special I can not recommend them highly enough. I will be going back for more individual pieces of furniture to be hand made.

Hazel Payne

Great bonding weekend activity with my 14 yr old son. We both learnt lots of skills in a supportive and fun atmosphere. Great set up and very encouraging. Look forward to the next time

John Edwards

Thanks to Alastair and Simon for a brilliant three day course. Amazing location, excellent workshop and great teaching. Fantastic experience with traditional tools and my own unique table to take home. Highly recommended.

Andrew Davey

Our experience at Little Acorn Furniture exceeded every expectation we had. I found Alasdair online while looking for a furniture course to book for our honeymoon and despite living in London LAF stood out as the best and only option. After many long discussions with Alasdair we agreed on a three day course to make a three meter long bespoke dining table from one piece of chestnut. Alasdair was so enthusiastic and even though he knew the sheer amount of work involved he didn’t try to change our minds once. Exceptionally kindly Alasdair offered to give the course to us alone for our honeymoon and this made it even more special. LAF is nestled into an exceptionally beautiful part of the world, right in a valley in the Dartmoor National Park, utterly tranquil and charming. It was so lovely to spend time in the forest and really get a feel for how sustainable and authentic the experience of taking a tree and working it into a table can be. Alasdair and Simon were the perfect pair, they explained everything clearly and demonstrated techniques in an accessible way. What was really impressive was Alasdair’s approach, he really wanted US to make the table and wanted our hands to have made every single component, this made the experience for us. We had wanted to include some ambitious elements and although it was challenging Alasdair was entirely supportive and ensured we got the finish and details we had envisaged. After three days we had a dining room table big enough to seat ten people comfortably made from two pieces of wood, one chestnut slab and one log of cherry. We wanted to create something bespoke and sustainable so the fact we had minimal to no waste was really special. Alasdair and Simon have helped us to create something we can keep and use forever, we are so thankful. There is no way we could have had a more rewarding or enjoyable honeymoon. Please support this wonderful business, you will not be disappointed.

Kirsty Pritchard

We asked Alasdair to make a custom bench for Mums birthday and he was brilliant, great updates all the way through the build and the finished result is excellent! We would highly recommend. Thanks again Alasdair

Tom Baker

My family and I recently spent an incredibly happy and gratifying time making a green wood table with Alasdair and his assistant, Simon. I cannot overstate what a special, stimulating and satisfying time it was - working together as a family; learning about the wood, the tools and the processes; and making a table which we will have forever and which will always remind us of that bonding time together. It was genuinely one of the most harmonious and fulfilling things we have ever done as a family and I would highly recommend it to anyone, however inexperienced. I have also never met two more gentle and patient teachers and craftsmen, with two more overdeveloped sets of forearms!

Alice Morgan

Took 5 children along to learn carpentry. They all had an amazing time, each made a sword and a baseball bat (their choice). They did everyhthing from sawing the wood to shaping it. Alisdair was so good with them and made sure they each left with finished items. My son who has ADHD was engaged from the start and cannot wait to go again. The parents also had a go and really enjoyed the day too.

Elaine Russell

Completed the 2 day 'Simply Stools' course this weekend and loved it. Alasdair is absolutely passionate about his chosen subject and incredibly generous in sharing both his passion and knowledge. I have not just learnt a huge amount but found the whole experience massively rewarding. I can not recommend completing any of Alasdair's courses enough and will be back as soon as I can. Thank You!!

David Smith