Les Thorne

Wizardry in Wood 2021

Les is a Registered Professional Turner (RPT) and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Turners.

At 52 years old Les has spent the whole of his life involved in the timber industry, first as a saw doctor then as a company director and now as a woodturner. Les has developed “No Turning Back” into a successful hand turning business taking commissions both large and small both in size and production runs. Over the last 20 years Les has put a lot of time in developing his presentation and teaching skills and is sought after for his demonstration skills in the UK, America and Europe. A tool developer, magazine article contributor and DVD maker means that he is always kept busy both in the workshop and out on the road. Les thinks having never been a hobby woodturner has given him a pretty unique woodturning journey. In 2007 he was lucky enough to be awarded a bursary from the Worshipful Company of Turners; this gave him the ability to start experimenting both with colour and texture.

What inspires me are the architectural shapes that come into my work daily, that combined with a surface decoration can lead to some interesting effects. Les Thorne