Andy Rounthwaite, Yeoman of the Turners’ Company
I was born and raised in Yorkshire and began woodturning after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Having had to give up my job I began looking for something new and challenging to occupy my time. I have always been active and for some reason fascinated by fast moving machinery (mainly motorbikes and drag cars). I had up to that point preferred metalwork to woodwork (on the basis that if you made a mistake with wood you couldn’t weld it back together!) My first attempt at woodturning was a bowl, turned on a 19th century engineering lathe using a couple of homemade tools (highly dangerous and not to be encouraged!); that’s when I realised I had found a craft that I not only enjoyed immensely, but one for which I had natural ability. I hurriedly purchased “proper” tools and made much better progress. After a while I needed an outlet for my work and started to attend local craft fairs, selling work in order to fund more trips to the wood suppliers for timber to play with. I also joined the local Woodturning Club and began to expand my aptitude and design skills, gaining confidence with experience. I subsequently gained NVQ level3 in Woodturning and in 2002 achieved City & Guilds teaching certificate (7307) . In 2004 I was accepted on to the Register of Professional Turners. I have been a tutor at John Boddy’s Wood & Tool Store in North Yorkshire for several years and have demonstrated at various clubs and wood suppliers nationally.
I have always had a very positive attitude to life and believe that boundaries are there to be pushed. If I can’t do it one way I WILL find an alternative. What started out as a hobby has become a passion and a way of life and I love to share both my creativity and my knowledge with anyone who will listen.
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