Meet Emily Ford | Woodturner and Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Ford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I am a mother of six children. Four of my own and two bonus kiddos from my husband. I also have two with some added special needs, my eldest is on the spectrum and my second was born with something called Pierre Robin Sequence and has subesquently had 55+ surgeries on his face over his 13 years of life. Throw in a few more kids, fourteen chickens, four dogs, and a cat and I stay fairly busy with just my family life on its own. Then add trying to run a sucessful woodturning brand, while teaching and demonstrating, and being president of my local turning club and you could say my plate is full.

When, I began turning nearly a decade ago it was something I did after the kids had been tucked into bed. I would go out to the woodshop for a few minutes to a few hours to give myself some much needed therapy in doing something with my hands. Now as my children have grown and become more self sufficent, I find myself spending more time in the woodshop or even allowing myself the joy of teaching or assisting in classes at the semi-local woodturning school, The Dale L. Nish School of Woodturning, in Provo, Utah.

I absolutely love what I do and sharing it with others brings me such joy. I have built a small following on my instagram page, @sheturnswood which allows me to connect with other craftspeople and artist in a very supportive community. All of my children spend time in the shop with me, all of them know how to safely use the lathe and even my husband joins me out in the shop every so often to work on his own creations.

Turning has been a lifeline for me, it connected me to others in the craft online, and it allows me a creative outlet that initially gave me an idenity outside of being “just mom” to being something I can share with my children and work on projects with them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I do not think of myself as an artist I am more of a craftsperson. I want to make and create things that will be useful, and serve a purpose, things that are of the kind of quality that can be passed down from one generation to the next.

From wooden bowls, to wooden ornaments for holiday celebrations I want my work to be used and loved. There are few greater things you can do with a wooden bowl than to use it! Make that salad, throw in that fruit, mix up the dough USE what I make, make it yours, stain it with strawberries, eat the icecream out of it create memories with it!

More recently I have gotten into the burial urn making side of this profession. I have been honored to create the final resting place for several dear friends and even family members. There is something incredibly special and almost sacred in being tasked with creating the final resting place for a loved one. It is not a task I take lightly, but have found that it is best to have a few of these on hand so I don’t have to do marathon sessions to have them ready in time for a funeral.

I have unintentionally specalized in making children’s toys, spinning tops, baby rattles, and yo-yos but I have found that is often the parents that enjoy the toys even more. Playing with the captive rings on the rattles trying to figure out how this was made with just one piece of wood, its always fun to try to watch the grown ups trying to figure it out. I love watching families, my own included, gather round to have top races, to see who’s will spin the longest whos will spin on the stems, who can make thiers travel the farthest. The peices bring familes together and I love that. I have learned that people really enjoy picking up wooden toys and just holding them in their hands there is something soothing about it.

So from birth to death I have covered the gamut in woodturning. Which I thinks speaks volumes of my range as a woodturner. I set out to be able to turn almost anything and I am happy to report I may almost be there!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am not a local to LA but my husband is from the Long Beach area. Whenever we visit we make sure to hit a beach to get sand between our toes, find a good taco spot, and we always make sure to hit Volcano Burger- their chili cheese fries are incredible! I also adore driving through Pasadena and the surrounding areas to take in the gorgeous architexture and go all doe eyed over the craftsmans style homes and bungalows.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would not be where I am today without the mentorship and support from Kirk DeHeer, he’s a master woodturner and artist. He graciously took me under his wing many years ago and has pushed me to keep going and improve every step along the way.

The Dale L. Nish School of Woodturning at Craft Supplies USA in Provo, UT has played a key role in my progression as a craftsperson. The instructors they bring in from all over the world are World Class turners. They create and support an excellent learning enviroment where everything you need is within arms reach.

The American Association of Woodturning and the local club support which got me in contact with local to me woodturners, really made a big difference in my ability to try new things. Thats one of my favorite things about the woodturning community, almost everyone is willing to help and share!

Instagram: @sheturnswood

Twitter: @sheturnswood

Facebook: https://facebook.com/sheturnswood

Youtube: @sheturnswood

Image Credits
Emily Ford