You can buy Carved Lovespoons for only £12.00/ $15.96 (+P&P)! Usual RRP £14.99 / $19.95
🇬🇧 For UK readers, visit giftstome.co.uk and use offer code R6216
🇺🇸 For US readers, visit IndiePubs.com and use offer code IPP4057
Offer ends 1st January 2027
Regular readers of Woodcarving will be familiar with the work of Dave Western, who has been a contributor to the magazine for many years. An accomplished carver, Dave covers many topics in his articles but his true passion is for designing and making lovespoons, and now he has gathered all of his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm into a new book, Carving Lovespoons.
A comprehensive guide to romantic spoons
The book begins with an overview of the history of romantic spoon carving in Europe, including traditions from Wales, Brittany and Scandinavia. Dave looks at the techniques that have been used to create these romantic tokens, and how the symbols carved on them have evolved over the centuries up to the modern day. In the techniques section, he demonstrates how to carve using Northwest coast-style bent knives and Welsh twca cams; he also explains how to create Celtic knots, chip carving, how to add the kolrosing effect on carvings and how to add wax inlay.
This background will allow you to design your own lovespoon, but if you want to follow one of Dave’s designs, there are 10 projects to choose from. These range in difficulty from a simple Welsh lovespoon to a Norwegian wedding spoon complete with a carved chain. Demonstrating the diversity in symbolism in modern-day spoon carving, the designs include tradition images such as love hearts and flowers, and more contemporary themes, such as a flame design inspired by hot rod cars. Each one is described step-by-step, with accompanying photographs and illustrations to make the whole process as easy to follow as possible. The designs can be made to commemorate a range of important life events, such as engagements, marriages, births and anniversaries. Dave’s passion for spoon carving is sure to inspire you to craft a love token to mark an important milestone in your own life!
A quick Q&A with Dave
You’re one of only a handful of carvers who make handcarved lovespoons professionally. How did you fall into lovespoon carving as a professional career?
My usual response is that as a Welshman, it was because I was too small to be a rugby player. I also happened to be blessed with a face made for radio and a voice made for a Trappist monastery, so those other Welsh standbys, acting and singing, were out too. That left me with lovespoon carving, and as good fortune would have it, that was something which turned out to be the perfect career for me.
The truth, however, is a bit more complicated, and I arrived at lovespoon carving through a long and very convoluted route that involved becoming a schoolteacher, getting several joinery and cabinetmaking certifications and working in the travel industry for a while.
My first actual exposure to Welsh lovespoons occurred when I was about 14 and was at the Cardiff Central Market with my Grandad. One of the stallholders was selling Welsh souvenirs and among the dishtowels, slate placemats and postcards was a small collection of wonderful, decorated spoons. The lady behind the counter fed me the tourist flannel about the history and traditions of the lovespoon and I, romantic little chap I was, fell for it and bought one to give to my then girlfriend.
Fortunately for me, the girlfriend and I had broken up BEFORE I got the chance to give her the spoon, so for many years it languished around the house. What I didn’t realise was that it was also planting a subtle seed of inspiration that would one day grow into a full-blown obsession. Each time I would see it, I would think to myself, ‘I could make one of those’’ and eventually, I did!
What advice would you give to anyone considering trying lovespoon carving?
I think that overall, as a society, we have lost our connection to wooden objects and to the value they can bring us, so that is why I have spent as much of my carving life as I have trying to encourage other carvers to give it a go. I don’t try to encourage anyone to take it on as a pastime or career, but I truly believe that everybody who has any interest at all in woodcarving has at least one lovespoon in them!
At its most basic level, a lovespoon is simply a wooden spoon that carries a personal message, but it is that opportunity to convey something truly heartfelt that makes carving one such a unique endeavour. My advice is always to just pick up a knife and start giving it a go! Carve something simple to start, unashamedly throw yourself into it and savour the time you’re doing it. Never consider carving a lovespoon a race against time or a competition (unless you’re chasing after the same sweetie as someone else and then it’s all guns blazing!) If it comes from your heart, the time spent carving a lovespoon is always time well spent!