The international celebration of the carved wooden spoon
SPOONFEST 2025: 31ST JULY – 3RD AUGUST – SAVE THE DATE!
Tickets on sale March 1st 9am
SPOONFEST is the annual international gathering of wooden spoon carving enthusiasts.
Since it started in 2011 SPOONFEST has inspired many skill sharing gatherings around the world which makes us very happy. If you want to find out what is so inspirational you’ll have to come and join us in a field in Edale the first weekend in August 2025.
Whether you are a serious professional carver, someone just starting out on the spoon carving journey or just someone who wonders what all the fuss is about you’ll find something here for you. There are more carved wooden spoons than you’ll ever see anywhere, many of them for sale. There’s a host of sharp tools to see, feel and try. There are dozens of species of green wood to experience carving. There’s great food, there are campfires, there are people chatting endlessly about what makes the perfect spoon. There are experts teaching classes, there’s informal sharing of skills, there are demonstrations of specialist techniques. There’s a wood fired pizza oven, there’s the most beautiful campsite and there are hot showers. There’s a community of lovely, slightly oddball, like minded people. There’s a charity bar, and there’s an awful lot of laughter.
SPOONFEST is in two parts, the main festival runs from Thursday 31st July 6pm to Sunday 3rd August 4pm. A smaller number of people join us for “prefest” staying on the same site but with intensive three day courses taught by some of the worlds top instructors this runs from 2pm Tuesday 29th July to 5pm Thursday 31st July.
You’ll not find much shared about spoonfest online, it’s very much an analog festival. In a world where people experience so many things through screens this is a few days of experiencing things first hand, feeling, seeing, smelling, touching, sharing, laughing. We hope you’ll come and join us.
Tickets go on sale March 1st 9am and often sell out quite quickly so if you want to come do save the date.
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Spoonfest has everything that any spoon carver could ever desire: masses of green wood, lots of sharp tools to try out for free, the best carvers in the world doing free demonstrations and paid workshops, campfires, the spoon gallery full of inspiration, Spoonshop for spoons, tools and T shirts, camping on site, local beer sold for charity, a wood fired pizza oven, all this with a wonderful festival atmosphere in the heart of the Peak District countryside.
Spoonfest line-up
Workshops are 2 hours long and cost £20 each paid direct to the tutor and can not be booked in advance. Bookings for each day open at 9 in the morning which means if you desperately want to do a particular workshop you need to get in the queue early.
On the Friday there will be lots of beginners classes focussing on the techniques of using axes and knives and discussions about timber. On Saturday and Sunday there will be more intermediate and advanced classes. Some workshops will be repeated Saturday and Sunday so if you miss out Saturday you may get a second chance to book early Sunday.
The Spoonfest line-up is getting too numerous to list but here’s an intro to many of the spoon carvers you might find sharing their skills with you at Spoonfest 2025! More updates to follow!
Adam Ashworth
Adam is a full time blacksmith and maker of green woodworking tools. He will be running classes in knife etching, where a knife blank is included in the course price.
Alan Mitchell
Alan is also known as Alien Spoons. Alan generally always uses small round wood for his spoons which reduces waste and the time required to axe out a blank. Alan will be teaching beginners workshops, how to make a mushroom shaped scoop that is an ornament and a scoop, and controlled knife cuts to make wooden flowers.
Alex Finberg
Alex is a spoon carver based in South Devon, he teaches a range of abilities and ages and is passionate about providing access to spoon carving for improving mental health and wellbeing.
Alex will be teaching workshops on Log to spoon – a step by step, production carving, a simple Cooking Spoon, and a range of beginner classes. He will also be holding a talk and Q&A on Spoon Carving for Wellbeing.
Amy Leake
I’ve been hooked on green woodworking since 2011 when I first became enthralled by the possibilities of working with raw wood to create humble functional objects. I’ve gained a huge amount from attending every Spoonfest since it’s inception, and am excited to be able to share my knowledge with others.
Amy will be teaching beginners classes, and ‘symmetrical spoons’.
Dave Cockcroft
Dave Cockcroft (aka @davethebodger) is a chair maker, spoon carver and teacher. He also makes small sloyd finishing knives from Hewn and Hone blanks. Dave’s workshops will focus on simple beginner’s sharpening.
Dave will be also demoing – Introduction to the adze and how to use it.
DeborahSchneebeli Morrell
Having originally trained in fine art Deborah became addicted to spoon carving ( she’s a spoon a day type!) after a long career as an artist/teacher and a writer of craft books.
She is known for investigating and carving a large variety of different wood species and has even realised that a lovely piece of wood can do more than anything to cheer you up! She has a lifelong interest in the value and meaning of making and its therapeutic and transformational aspects.
Deborah will be teaching safe and effective axe work, and how to draw without a template to make a pocket spoon.
Her practice stresses the importance of drawing (without a template) as a way of developing imagination and enhancing perception. She will also emphasize learning to use tools confidently (safely) to make a better spoon!
Harald Lamon
Harald returns this year to teach an assortment of different classes – from beginners axe knife and hook knife, to feather spoons and scoops. He will also teach Bag Clip spoons, and finishing techniques.
Harry Samuel
Harry (@sparry_hoons) has been a green woodworker and land worker for over a decade. He completed an apprenticeship with Barn the Spoon and at the Cherry Wood Project. He was a founding member of the Greenwood Guild in London and taught woodland crafts at Ruskin Mill College. Harry has a passion for passing on rural skills to people of all ages and abilities.
Karel Hekrle
“I am happy to join Spoonfest this year to bring a little piece of knowledge to share again and teach several workshops. Having experienced long years of using the axe daily I want to promote it’s both sides – raw effectivity and delicate precision when skillfuly handled. Uncover the beauty of the underbark textures that i often welcome as a part of the design. And give some ideas on carving long handled spoons and scoops.
I like the contact with nature, it inspires me in its changes and I want to cherish the real impression from “living” wood in its pure beauty.”
Jan Harm Ter Brugge
Jan Harm is a spooncarver and product designer/teacher from the Netherlands. He picked up spoon carving as a design activity in 2004, looking for a simple and direct approach to design humble products that matter for people, both in a visual- and ergonomical aspect. Being a student in one of Wille Sundqvist’s last workshops in Sweden influenced his style and view about spoons and teaching.
At this year’s Spoonfest Jan Harm will be teaching his way of carving ‘Kåsor’ (‘Kuksa’s’) by making ‘minimugs’, as well as eating spoon anatomy with axe and knife, and probably little scoops! He’s also planning a lecture on ‘Spoon Aesthetics & Visual Vocabulary’.
Maryanne is back this year, teaching how to axe out a spoon blank with emphasis on the profile, and learn where to position your crank before working on the spoon shape. You will use axe and knife and produce spoon blanks ready for carving your favourite spoon. She’ll also demo how to get a smooth finish on your spoon bowl.
Martin Hazell
Martin Hazell began carving spoons almost by accident about 25 years ago and he’s not planning to stop anytime soon. He specialises in carving scoops and working with unusual woods, particularly burr. Martin will be teaching how to carve a “Traditional Curvaceous Flour Scoop” in Hazel, and how to carve a traditional devon cream spoon in sycamore.
He will also be doing a demo on ‘scoop design – how to design and make an attractive and useful scoop”
MaxNeukäufler
“Being fascinated about blades and exotic cultures, I originally got into Spooncarving because I wanted to use the tools I had collected by my early 20s.
Traveling to all corners of the world to study martial arts, forge and do backcountry guiding, I started to pick up overlapping principles, both mental and physical. I made it my mission statement to integrate them, to form a save, bold, learning oriented system that allows anybody to let their creativity flow without limits.
On the practical side of things I got to make and design some of the more popular tools on the market based on my goal to teach every student to get to know their tools intimately and use them to their full potential.
I teach Spooncarving like I teach grappling, canoeing or archery. Systematic, principle based, bold, physical and with a steep, continuing learning curve.
I’m stoked to be able to share over a dozen years of worldwide Spooncarving with you!”
Mikey will be teaching eating spoon crank, finishing cuts, design- asymmetrical symmetry, as well as beginners classes, and demoing axework and miniature spoons.
Oren Hetzroni
“Carving has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, filling that urge to create something. I get my inspiration from my surroundings, putting chickens, snails, frogs on my work as little reminders of nature’s beauty. I live on a small farm in the center of Israel where I teach spoon carving classes and trying to spread this rewarding craft.”
Oren will be teaching chicken scoops, snail spoons & forbidden forks.
Owen will be returning to Spoonfest this year with his classic Dolphin Spoon class, as well as running a Spoon Clinic. He will also teach beginners classes.
Paul Adamson
Paul has worked with trees since 1996 and been greenwood working since carving his first spoon in 2004. Public demonstrations of crafts and teaching soon followed and he spends his time carving woodenware, working in countryside conservation and foraging for the next tasty piece of wood or wild food.
Paul will be teaching you how to carve a ‘Resting Spoon’ – A nice simple stirring spoon for drinks and sauces, with a fun resting dish for it to sit on in-between jobs. Its an opportunity to play with a little creative design and chip carving.
He will also be teaching you how to carve ‘Leaf scoops’ – Learning how to carve smaller items safely without compromising on design. These scoops are perfect for ground coffee or as baking measures.
He will also be demonstrating how to hollow a kuksa cup with three simple tools.
Peter Kovacs
Peter will be teaching how to use templates to improve your design approach,
This course is designed to deepen your carving skills and expand your understanding of form, helping you create more unique and intentional spoon designs. Rather than carving a spoon from start to finish, we’ll focus on specific sections, using templates as a guide to build a strong foundation for your own design approach.
You’ll develop key techniques, improve your control over form and proportion, and learn how to move beyond limitations that may be holding back your creativity. This process will give you the confidence to experiment, adapt, and craft spoons that truly reflect your personal style.
By focusing on method and technique rather than just the finished product, this course provides the tools to help you grow as a carver—giving you the skills and confidence to design and create spoons that are distinctly your own.
He will also be Demoing Production Carving – Using a vice to rough out the spoon blanks.
And Tool handle Ergonomicss – What makes a good handle and how to improve your existing one.
Sean Hellman
“Do you struggle with sharpening? I certainly did. I wished that someone had taught me from the beginning with sharpening theory, for example: what bevel angles are, and then how to achieve the correct angle for the tool being sharpened. I got snippets of well-intended advice but it was often contradictory and never shown with a practical hands-on demonstration. Decades later having experienced sharpening possibly all types of edge-cutting tools, and from teaching sharpening to edge-tool users, I have honed my skills and can explain the theory of sharpening and how to sharpen well.”
Yoav Elkayam “I have been introduced to spoon carving and greenwood working almost 10 years ago while visiting friends in the UK, and got inspired to take it to the next step and my full day occupation after attending Spoonfest 2014 . Having been working as a full time maker and instructor for the past 9 years, between craftsmen I met along the way in order to improve my skills and eye for details & live closer to the trees and nature.
Workshops are 2 hours long and cost £20 unless stated, each paid direct to the tutor and can not be booked in advance. They have to be booked when SPOONSHOP opens in the morning which means if you desperately want to do a particular workshop you need to get in the queue early.
On the Friday there will be lots of beginners classes focussing on the techniques of using axes and knives and discussions about timber. On Saturday and Sunday there will be more intermediate and advanced classes. Some workshops will be repeated Saturday and Sunday so if you miss out Saturday you may get a second chance to book early Sunday.
