
We meet carver, green woodworker, teacher and author Harald Lamon
Harald Lamon has a passion for trees and green woodworking, and he believes that connecting with nature, creating objects from natural materials and connecting with other people are good for our wellbeing. A self-taught woodworker, he set up the Lepelhuis (Spoonhouse) in Bruges and also bought an area of local woodland, which he calls the Lepelbos (Spoonforest). He runs regular workshops for woodworkers of all levels and backgrounds, and also organises a Spoonclub.
His new book, Green Wood Carving, is more than just a ‘how-to’ book; Harald’s passion for woodcarving as a sustainable craft and his connection to wood and nature shines through on every page. It includes fascinating information about wood, an overview of carving tools and nine carving projects. Here, he tells us more about the book and his work.
@lepelhuis
Your book, Green Wood Carving, is dedicated to your grandfather. How much of an influence did he have on you as a woodworker and creative person?
For most of my life, I thought of my grandfather as the author, book collector and passionate reader that he was. He gave me a love for books, writing and reading. From my father, I got my interest and passion for nature and trees. But only when I wrote my own book and searched my memories for my early encounters with woodworking, did I realise it was also my grandfather who taught me how to use an axe and a saw, how to fell a tree and showed me how much you can do yourself if you put your mind to it! I spent a lot of Saturdays as a child with my grandfather doing chores in the garden and in the shed and I loved it. It took me until recently to really understand and appreciate how big his influence was. The amount of time he spent with me is amazing to realise. I sometimes think I didn’t thank him enough for that.

What first started your interest in working with green wood?
As long as I can remember I loved crafting things out of wood. From little chairs for my room to a bow and arrow or more arty stuff when I grew up. However, I always felt a big barrier to doing more with wood because I didn’t have formal training or anybody around me to teach me (also because I went to university, so woodworking was not considered something for me to do) and the price of the tools and workspace often held me back. It wasn’t until I saw somebody carve a spoon from a branch with simple tools that I really felt that I had found what I was looking for. It combined my search for simplicity and creativity in life but also connected me even more with nature. I also like the humbleness of a spoon and other useful objects that we use daily. There is something really meaningful about surrounding yourself with well-made but beautiful, simple objects. The funny thing is that after more than 10 years of carving and six years as a full-time green woodworker I just built now my own wood workshop that I always dreamed of as a little boy.
What’s your career background? Do you have any formal training in woodwork?
Totally not, I studied psychology and social management at university and green woodworking was almost unknown in my country, so training in woodworking with green wood or hand tools was impossible at the time. I worked in the social sector for almost 15 years before I made the jump to stop working and only do what I love to do. My passion for reading and learning made it possible to eventually do this full-time. I went to do courses with different masters in several countries to learn all I could and I read every book on green woodworking I could find. Together with a lot of practice, hard work and support from my wife, I’m proud to do what I now do.

Your book celebrates the many advantages of green woodworking, including the social side of carving. An entire chapter is dedicated to explaining why woodcarving and connecting with nature and other people is good for us. However, are there any potential problems with using green wood?
No, not for me, but I can think of a totally different answer a carpenter would give you to that question! Eventually green, fresh wood dries out and with that process comes shrinkage that can cause difficulties or challenges but also opportunities. For small objects like spoons, drying is not an issue, but for bigger projects like bowls, benches or chairs, shrinkage can be challenging to adapt to. For me, the advantage of easily working the softer green wood almost always outweighs the difficulties in the drying process. And, in some green woodworking projects, shrinkage is a fundamental part of the process of making the object. Like with shrink pots, I use the shrinkage of the branch to secure the bottom plank in a groove without the need for glue.
Another example is the joints in greenwood chairs or stools. The rungs are left or forced to dry completely so the tenon at the end has become oval. The mortise that is drilled in the legs that are still a bit moist is of course round but a bit smaller than the oval of the tenon. Then we press the rung into the leg with force. That connection is already very good but the swelling of the tenon from the moisture of the leg makes it almost impossible to get apart. And that again without the need for glue or screws.
In the end, there is no better approach how to work wood, green or dry. It’s just different in many ways but they also overlap many times. The biggest difference for me is that in green woodworking the wood is split and not sawn to dimensions. That means that I mostly let the grain dictate the shape and not the saw machine. And without the need for power tools (but sometimes with the help from my battery-powered drill!) come other differences like my woodland workshop and teaching area without electricity and noise, where I spent most of my days and feel blessed and in contact with the forest around me.


Below: Harald leads many carving workshops

What kinds of carving tools are suitable for working with green wood?
That is a long list and also a running joke among people in my spoonclub! The thing is that basically, one of the big advantages of green woodworking is that you don’t need a lot of (expensive) tools! For a lot of beginners, spoon carving is the entry to the world of green woodcarving and you only need three simple, ancient tools (axe, knife, spoonknife) a block to chop on (can be a fallen tree) and a spot to sit and relax while you are carving (can be the same fallen tree).
The joke is that I always say that in my intro in the spoon carving workshops but the more people get to know me, the more they realise I have a whole lot of (expensive) tools and I love that for every job there is a perfect, well-made, handcrafted tool. Of course, there is a difference in the tools needed for making a stick chair or a simple spatula, but I still find pleasure and satisfaction in the basicness of green woodworking tools. For example, the perfect surroundings for a holiday for me are a forest, a river, a log cabin, a freshly fallen tree and my rucksack with my favourite axe, knife and spoon knife. You can carve a lifetime full of wonderful things with just a carving knife, but still, my all-time favourite is my carving axe.
Can you tell us a bit about the workshops you offer, what kinds of skills do you teach?
I refer to myself, or people often call me, a green woodworker, but maybe even more I’m a green woodworking teacher. Of course, you really can’t be the one without the other but I very much like teaching, sharing and inspiring people into working with living wood. I like to do and teach different things and it also makes sense, from the business side of things, that I teach different subjects and to different demographics. From an afternoon with six year olds, to a year-long green woodworking course where I (with the support from other teachers as well) cover almost all aspects of green woodworking. From felling a tree to carving spoons or kuksa, turning a bowl on a pole lathe or making chairs and also forging your own carving knife and decorating the things you made.
I also give workshops to people with disabilities or social problems that I can hopefully help through manual, creative satisfying work and connection with nature, or sometimes I do a demo ‘show’ for a big group, where I carve a spoon while talking about my life and passion for green woodworking with jokes in between. At the end somebody can catch the spoon and take it home. The common thread running through all those different workshops is that I hope that woodcarving can bring joy and flow to as many people as possible because carving is good for us in so many ways.
What tips would you give to someone who wants to try green woodcarving for the first time?
Some people just want to jump in but sometimes need a little push to start doing it, so maybe this article can be the last push needed to pick up a piece of wood and a knife. Other people (like me) need much more information and context before starting something new comfortably. To them I would say, take a workshop in your area and/or read my book. Also on YouTube there are many great videos on green woodworking, like the channel from Zed Outdoors. The main tip for all is that it can be challenging in the beginning but if you stick with it, we all can carve something that is considered beautiful and useful. I feel confident in saying that, because I have had thousands of people over the years in my workshops learn to carve a spoon or shrink pot or make a stool, etc. They all made something nice and realised that with practice they will find their way in green woodcarving. Some people have more talent than others and there is always someone better than you, but I think that doesn’t mean it can’t be useful, lots of fun or a meaningful social part of your life.
Do you have a favourite tree species to work with and what are your favourite items to carve?
The more you learn about trees, the more variables or properties you learn to see, identify or evaluate. So, the more difficult it becomes to choose a favourite. I once carved around 70 lookalike spoons from 70 different species of wood. I thought that my fellow carvers and students would find that very interesting, but it turns out I’m more of a wood nerd than most others are!
The ones that stood out for me are: oak, the smell, the strength, the folklore, the ecological importance, a very common but special tree in so many ways. Juniper, that strong, dense wood smells better than any perfume I know, really amazing. Yew, the tree of life, can regrow from almost nothing, very beautiful layers of colour in the heartwood, from pink to purple and different shades of red and orange in between. Yew is also the tree of death, toxic from root to needle. A complex tree that I adore. And last is boxwood. So hard and strong that it stands in contrast with the soft yellow, the shine of the wood and the beautiful delicate layers of bark.
Favourite items to carve, is also a difficult question. My first love is spoons and I’ll never get tired of making yet another spoon. I love the cosiness of a kuksa, how to carve it but especially to teach it. People are just so happy and satisfied when they’ve carved their own kuksa. The most proud I feel is when I finish a good, strong stool or chair. It takes all my skill to make one.


Above: Spoons are one of the most popular subjects for greenwood carving