Woolly Drawers aka black faced sheepy thing

I first made woolly drawers 20 years ago. The name was never quite right as there was only one drawer at the head end. This recent version has a drawer both fore and aft. The drawers are lined with wool waste so that the name fits even for those who have never known the joys of woolen undergarments. It was bought by a very nice man for his wife who both likes my work and loves black faced sheep so was a perfect present. He re-named it the black faced sheepy thing.

seal in elm

This seal is unusual. It is made from a plank of elm which was part of a groyne washed up on Mersea Island in Essex 

I use the planks as part of my display stand at shows. One of the planks was badly split and has been lying around for years until this week when it became this, slightly smaller version of the usual seals I make.There is a very strange aroma when you cut wood that has been immersed in seawater. Very unpleasant in the case of pine but elm was quite interesting.

Incidentally I was the winner of a lovely award one year from the British Toymakers Guild for the Best Dressed stand. It was an automata of a pair of disembodied clapping hands. When the prize was presented, Robert Nathan, the manager of the Guild announced " The award this year goes to Jeff Soan for his best dressed Groyne"

Marbled Gecko

Made of oak and leather and very lively this little marbled gecko was born in the workshop today.  I have hooked it on pegs in a piece of driftwood so it can be wall hung and can be easily removed.

Baby Iguana

This is a baby iguana completed this week. Quite by accident his tail, if free to dangle counterbalances the body so that the legs lift and the body moves. I'm not particularly good at getting the look of the young of the species but this little fellow with his slightly over sized feet definitely helps give that youthful look.