Awards evening for woodturners

The West Sussex Woodturners, were delighted when Julia Edge and her husband Will accepted the invitation to present their club's awards and judge the annual presentation evening's competition.
Julia Edge with the award winnersJulia Edge with the award winners
Julia Edge with the award winners

At the event club members enter an array of turned pieces to win the coveted prize.

Judging wood turning skills does not usually fall under the day to day remit for Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre’s curator, but Julia was soon put as ease when it was explained that she was not judging perfect turning skills, but choosing items that she would like to see in her home.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The West Sussex Woodturners run a quarterly club competition that challenges members to use different turning skills to create specific items. The points awarded for these pieces are tallied to produce the yearly club winners.

They are recognised and presented with engraved cups or shields at the awards dinner in Sullington Parish Hall.

Having enjoyed a sumptuous meal, Julia and Will took their time to view and inspect the varied items entered into the competition. With no specific brief other than to display an item you would like to see in your home, the entries ranged from the unusual, to functional, to fun and elegant with a castle, vases, bowls, a skittles game and many more stunning pieces to choose from.

The decision to choose a favourite was not easy.

Julia said: “The quality and beauty of the work is outstanding. It is so very difficult to judge as I would choose everything to have in my home.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Not surprisingly Julia and Will chose different items, but the three final choices were made by Julia, with third prize going to the Stetson crafted by Dave Newson, the second to a wafer thin tea cup and saucer by John Woolgar and first to a stunning birch bowl by Colin Willetts.