Heartwood Studio Woodturning

His specialty is large salad bowls and servers, with a supporting cast of other creations such as cutting boards, kitchen implements, small bowls, coasters, cremation urns, artistic bowls, and whatever else catches his interest and is supported by his customers. Designs are simple and practical. His work sells well because it is attractive, functional and reasonably priced.

His favourite woods to work with are local Bigleaf Maple and Arbutus (Madrone) – maple because of its wide variety of exquisite grains, and arbutus because of its hardness and durability. The wood Ken uses is salvaged from around the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. In the interest of conservation, he uses mostly trees that have been downed by the wind or felled for safety reasons. There is very little waste, as he uses the McNaughton System to produce small bowls from inside big ones, turns scraps of wood into small items such as butter knives, and burns any residual wood in his woodstove.