Seller Of The Week: Jonathan Renton

We’re really excited to show you today’s Rooms Solutions Seller of the Week.

It’s rare to come across wood turning, but what you’re about to see is something special.

Jonathan uses a lot of different wood types to create some magical looking bowls, cups and vases – all with their own unique patterns and striations.

Rooms Solutions had a chat with Jonathan to get an understanding of how he works and his process for creating every distinct product.

Q&A with Jonathan

Name: Jonathan Renton

Bio: 30 year old designer and woodworker from Nottingham, U.K.

How did you first get into wood turning and what made you never look back?

As a graphic designer, I’ve always had a passion for design.

Most of my time is spent making careful decisions based on shape, alignment, form; all with aesthetics in mind.

I spend almost all of my time as a designer on a computer or using pencil and paper to create two dimensional graphics, the more I did this, the greater the urge I had to create physical three dimensional objects, and apply the same design theory to these.

I’ve always had an interest in wood, so combining this with the desire to create 3D objects lead me to wood turning.

What makes your products unique in the wood turning world?

I’d like to think my work strikes a nice balance between decorative and functional.

I have a particular focus on creating delicately thin bowls whilst also paying particular attention to the finish, ensuring I show the natural color and texture of the wood.

Which species of wood are best to work with and which do you need to avoid at all costs?

I enjoy working with English sycamore the most, it’s soft enough that it’s enjoyable to turn, but dense enough that I can create particularly thin bowls.

American walnut is also a favorite, as the final product offers such a gorgeous deep color, but it requires particular patience to get a good finish, avoiding grain tear-out.

There are no species that I would avoid, but wood that hasn’t been prepared and dried well enough can be very problematic!

How spontaneous is your work?

I try and find a balance between creating and refining my ‘signature’ shape, whilst also playing around with new ideas.

It also comes down to the wood I find, I might change the plans for a bowl based on the wood figuring direction and, during the wood turning process, I might uncover a knot or a crack in the wood that will alter the way I shape that particular bowl.

Where can the lovely readers of this article find everything you create?

I post regularly on my Instagram account @jonathan.renton and I open my online shop: www.jonathanrenton.com every couple of months to show and sell the past month’s work.

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Rooms Solutions want to say a huge thank you to Jonathan for contributing to this Seller of the Week article.

He’s done a great job and we’re confident you’ll agree that his work in exceptional too, definitely seek his website and Instagram out to buy some of your own.