All About Ellie and Ian

The Treen Workshop (www.thetreenworkshop.co.uk) is the website of Elaine Thompson (Ellie) and her father Ian Murray West.

Both are amateur/ semi-professional woodturners.  Their main workshop is located near Brecon, Wales.

Ellie had a very active life style until 2006; messing about with horses and ponies and then latterly training, competing and judging in Dog Agility, as well as working in a Solicitors office.  However, life changed at that point and Ellie took up wood turning as a therapy.  "It is very therapeutic to go in the workshop and make a lovely bowl or board out of a piece of a tree."
In early 2010 Ellie joined Ian in his woodturning venture. After a steep learning curve under the strict watchful eye of her expert turner father - she now produces most of the output from her own fully equipped workshop located near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Ellie has continued her father's fascination with wood since an early age, when helping him to pull down dead trees on the farm and on neighbouring properties.  Ellie likes to make individual items - letting the wood speak as to the shape and size of the item.

Ian started life as a farmer and then pursued a career as a structural/ civil engineer. He always had a fascination with wood and, in his spare time - collected and used fallen timber for most of his life.  In the early stages of his woodworking hobby, he
concentrated on bespoke cabinet making but over the past 30 years moved almost exclusively to woodturning.

For many many years both Ellie and Ian have been involved in hauling and converting 'rescued', wind-blown and felled trees - starting with the tragedy of 'Dutch elms' and literally all of the wind blow from the Earl of Devon's Estate.

There is a particular satisfaction from picking up a rough old log from the wood pile or the tree surgeons lorry, that others would regard as merely firewood or reject because of blemishes and making it into something beautiful to look at, delightful to hold and useful in the home.

The Treen Workshop's style should be viewed as functional - meant to be used rather than delicate, which still results in stunning useful pieces.  Full advantage is taken of twisted grain, knots, burrs, outside waney edges and dimples to create interesting features.
Where necessary natural faults and fissures in the wood may be 'helped' with epoxy resin!
Ellie's personal style is more delicate and artistic, but shares the same naturalistic ethos.

See the Contacts Page for full details of how to reach us.

Here are some examples of our work in a 'domestic' setting... (click on any image to see an enlarged view of the image)