Hand carved birch kuksa, beech eating spoon and a wild mushroom breakfast! Carved cherry kuksa cup A ‘nautically’ inspired kuksa made by Joe A hazel burl cup Carved ash cup Hand carving a kuksa cup Fancy a brew? Carved ash cup with antique finish Finished kuksa cups Chip carved kuksa handle Hollowing out a cup Kuksa roughed out with axe, gouge and knife in the woodland workshop Carved ash cup Wilderness crafts Hand carved hazel Kuksa cup A selection of wooden crafts made by Joe O'Leary Hand carved Kuksa cups Carving a kuksa cup Kuksa carved from sweet chestnut in the woods Splitting large timber Carving the kuksa handle

Kuksa Carving Workshop

This two day woodland workshop focuses on a broad range of carving skills to enable you to create your own hand carved Kuksa (wooden cup), drawing inspiration from both Scandinavian and North American folk crafts. 

Steeped in tradition, these Kuksa, Kasa or noggin cups are traditionally hand carved from a birch burl but can also be carved from a split log. Well made and properly looked after, ‘belt cups’ like these would last a lifetime.

Regional traditions had an influence on design allowing many variations on a theme and plenty of inspiration for modern day carvers, like us.

The axe features heavily during the two days; we cover tool selection, safety, maintenance of the axe as well as sectioning and splitting larger timber using this versatile and iconic tool. Roughing out of carving projects safely using the axe is also covered as well as fine knife work and an introduction to wood hollowing tools such as the crooked knife and gouge chisel used in conjunction with green woodworking gadgets made from the surrounding woods.

You will be shown how to seek out interesting features in the wood such as grain pattern, protrusions and spalting discolouration which can add a personal touch to your cup, which you'll treasure with all your heart..... until you carve the next one!

Please expect to be constantly busy on our craft workshops. To get as much as possible from your experience, arrive fully prepared to work hard between the advertised start and finish times. Traditional crafts ask a lot from your hands, muscles and mind but the long term gain will be worth it!

Each working day will begin at 9am and we’ll down tools at 5pm daily (although please be prepared to work on a little bit later if needed).

All tools, materials and hot drinks are provided however, please bring your own lunch and snacks

If you wish to stay locally, the nearest villages are Tisbury, Hindon & Chicklade. If you would like to camp over in the woods, please mention this when you book.

This workshop can be booked as private training for groups of two or more people. Please get in touch to choose your own date


Kuksa Carving Workshop

Kuksa Carving Workshop

2 Days

Start 09.00

Finish 17.00

£200 per person

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