Richard Raffan

I began to turn wood in England in 1970 at the age of 26 and after a successful career in the London wine trade.  I was never a hobby turner.  When I decided to turn wood for a living late in 1969 I knew nothing of the craft other than it involved a lathe and tools with long handles. I reckoned that if I enjoyed the craft all I had to do was develop good technical skills and marketing, and I’d earn a decent living selling what I enjoy making. And that that’s what I’ve done since mid-1970, first in England, then, from 1982, Australia. Being the only turner juried into The Craftsman’s Art, a seminal exhibition in London in 1973, was a great boost to my career.

In 1970 I had to create a market for the one-off bowls I inevitably produced as a novice, but after two sales trips I got repeat orders. I was turning utilitarian bowls, scoops, and plates that sold to kitchen, gift, and souvenir shops; and I also sold a lot of delicate bowls, scoops, and boxes to gift shops and craft galleries. I never needed to consign work and that’s why I’ve seldom had work in American galleries. Moving to Australia in 1982 was risky business-wise because I had to start over in a new environment, but fortunately that didn’t take too long.

I began teaching formally in 1978 when Highland Craftpoint, in Scotland, employed me to advise embryo craft businesses in the Highlands and Islands. Apart from that I did very little teaching until I became a regular presenter for Dale Nish at the Utah Woodturning Symposiums in the 1980s; then demand took off after my book and video Turning Wood with Richard Raffan were published in 1985. Subsequent books and videos increased requests for me to lead workshops.

After nearly forty years of production turning I opted to spend less time at my lathe and spent a couple of years creating whimsical little boats and other stuff using wood and found objects.  Now in my mid-seventies I still turn a few bowls and boxes, do the occasional demonstration and symposium, and contemplate building a tacking proa when snooker, tennis, and cycling allow. — Richard Raffan