Geoff Hannis WIW25

Geoff is a Bristol-based wood worker and founder of Tree to Treen. He is on a journey to rediscover the lost art of the pole lathe as part of a growing greenwoodworking community. 

For him, a big part of the greenwoodwork ethos is one of self sufficiency: from sourcing your own wood (from the surrounding woodlands and hedgerows); to forging your own tools; to even making your own lathe. This autonomy brings an authentic and unconstrained quality to Geoff’s work, which, far from being a pronouncement of individualism, is in fact a gentle nod to the connections forged through this age-old craft.

Countless woodland walks as a child nurtured Geoff’s affinity for wood but this was initially separate from his profession as a software engineer. In 2017 however, he left engineering in an effort to find a career that wasn’t desk-bound and which reflected his idea of a more sustainable world. In retrospect, the shift to become a craftsman and discovering the joy of working green wood through the Cherry Wood Project was no big surprise, given his lifelong creativity and fascination with the material. 

After five years of continual experimentation and development, in 2024, Geoff was selected as the first QEST Turners’ Company Emerging Maker. This funded training with Jack Wheeler, Yoav Elkayam and Matt Whittaker taught him how to make stop-turned vessels, a technique unique to the pole lathe, where vessels with protrusions can be turned.

Currently Geoff’s work focuses on crafting wooden objects, which are typically thought of as being made of metal. In doing so, he believes we can gain a greater understanding of the versatility and potential of wood. Often by embarking on such objects, the process leads to new avenues for exploration and occasionally improvements. This re-imagining of objects using a natural and renewable material re-connects him to his aim to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Expect to see a whole variety of green woodworking techniques applied to novel pole lathe turned objects.