Blog

Weaving willow sculptures The cold winter months won’t stop us from weaving willow sculptures. We just wrap up in extra warm clothing and drink hot tea as most of our work is done outside or in spaces with minimal heating. This year Sylvan Skills had to face...

Maxine Hall had special plans for the centenary celebration of Halls of Heddon, which has nurseries at Ovington and Heddon-on-the-Wall. She wanted to create a joyful eye-catcher for their annual display at the Harrogate Flower Show. This was to compliment the abundant...

The summer holidays are always a busy time for Sylvan Skills. It is usually good weather for outdoor activities and people have time to enjoy their gardens, improve their outside spaces and learn new skills. This year we also taught a series of willow weaving...

Creating outdoor classrooms and the perfect outdoor learning space depends on the needs of the school or nursery, children and teachers. Over the years Sylvan Skills has helped to develop many educational outdoor areas. We have built hazel and living willow structures...

St Aidan's School in Teams, Gateshead asked Sylvan Skills to help develop their outdoor area. It has been transformed into different zones, including a fire pit, a large castle surrounding a central tree,...

Spring is coming and with it the longing to spend more time outdoors. Trees are starting to bud and birds are returning from their winter quarters. People are beginning to tidy up their gardens, preparing the soil for early plants like peas and mangetouts. We now want...

Founded in 1994 and based in Northumberland, Sylvan Skills creates customised willow and greenwood sculptures and garden structures. Botanist, horticulturist and founder Ruth Thompson is a knowledgeable, experienced heritage artisan and artist with a love for natural...

Living willow structures, and their care Living willow structures come in a variety of uses and forms: Play structures, such as domes, tunnels and bespoke items perhaps a boat, caterpillar, dragon, or metro train. These are often useful in primary schools. (include...

Eco Coffins The current lockdown situation raised some interesting challenges for me. For starters as I imagine has been the case for thousands of self-employed people or small businesses, I had several projects in the pipeline that were either cancelled or put on...