S
itting in her studio, knife in hand,
carving away at a bit of reclaimed
walnut, Sophie Sellu is not your
average woodworker.
Surrounded by chippings
and beautifully crafted spoons,
chopping boards, brushes and vases, Sophie
works alone, apart from her whippet Stanley
and a podcast for company. After all, you can’t
afford to be distracted when you’re swinging
an axe or slicing into wood with an obscenely
sharp knife. This solitude gives her the space to
create bespoke homewares from recycled wood,
admired by the likes of Nigella Lawson and
which you may have spotted in the pages of
recipe books or on the tables of restaurants.
While Sophie has been interested in
woodwork since school, it wasn’t the career
she originally followed. After graduating with
a degree in design, she began working in visual
merchandising. But struggling to be truly
creative at work, she signed up to workshops
to try new skills – including a spoon-carving
course, which changed her life. “I spent eight
hours carving a spoon in a forest in Sussex –
I loved every minute of it,” she explains. “In
just one day I’d created an item I could hold
in my hand. I’d made something useful, and
I wanted to make more.”
Still working full time and living with her
parents in west London, she spent every spare
minute teaching herself how to carve and
sculpt, gradually moving on from simple spoons
to more complicated carvings. “I’d sit in the
living room getting wood chips everywhere.
My parents were just pleased I was doing
something I enjoyed, although there were
a couple of times where I had to say, ‘I think
you’re going to have to drive me to A&E because
I’ve cut myself again’. Considering how clumsy
I am, I may have chosen the wrong profession!”
Sophie started out working with green wood- easier to cut due to its high moisture content
- but struggling to find a constant source led her
down a new path. “I started scouring eBay for
old bits of furniture to use. Luckily, my uncle
is a builder who works on renovation projects
and could get me lots of reclaimed wood.
“Using reclaimed wood means what I make
is dictated by the size of the offcut I have, but,
rather than it being a constraint, it means
everything is unique and has its own history.
I love giving a new lease of life to something
that’s been deemed waste.”
After a year of honing her skills, and having
been made redundant from her day job, Sophie
decided to take the plunge and launched her
brand Grain & Knot. With some help from
The Prince’s Trust, she set herself up with tools
and a website and set to work, initially selling
through Instagram, then through markets. Her
business quickly gathered pace as she began to
be stocked in independent stores. Then Nigella
bought some of her items. “That was a bit of a
shock!” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘I’ll give it a
few more months,’ but I soon realised it could
actually be my proper job.”
Handcrafting everything herself is hugely
time consuming. “Some days I’ll only carve
for a couple of hours and on others I’ll do
15 hours straight and go to bed at 3am. »"CONSIDERING HOW CLUMSY I AM,
I MAY BE IN THE WRONG PROFESSION"
PHOTOGRAPHY: APPEAR HERES
itting in her studio, knife in hand,
carving away at a bit of reclaimed
walnut, Sophie Sellu is not your
average woodworker.
Surrounded by chippings
and beautifully crafted spoons,
chopping boards, brushes and vases, Sophie
works alone, apart from her whippet Stanley
and a podcast for company. After all, you can’t
afford to be distracted when you’re swinging
an axe or slicing into wood with an obscenely
sharp knife. This solitude gives her the space to
create bespoke homewares from recycled wood,
admired by the likes of Nigella Lawson and
which you may have spotted in the pages of
recipe books or on the tables of restaurants.
While Sophie has been interested in
woodwork since school, it wasn’t the career
she originally followed. After graduating with
a degree in design, she began working in visual
merchandising. But struggling to be truly
creative at work, she signed up to workshops
to try new skills – including a spoon-carving
course, which changed her life. “I spent eight
hours carving a spoon in a forest in Sussex –
I loved every minute of it,” she explains. “In
just one day I’d created an item I could hold
in my hand. I’d made something useful, and
I wanted to make more.”
Still working full time and living with her
parents in west London, she spent every spare
minuteteachingherselfhowtocarveand
sculpt,graduallymovingonfromsimplespoons
tomorecomplicatedcarvings.“I’dsitinthe
livingroomgettingwoodchipseverywhere.
MyparentswerejustpleasedI wasdoing
somethingI enjoyed,althoughtherewere
a coupleoftimeswhereI hadtosay,‘I think
you’regoingtohavetodrivemetoA&Ebecause
I’vecutmyselfagain’.Consideringhowclumsy
I am,I mayhavechosenthewrongprofession!”
Sophiestartedoutworkingwithgreenwood- easiertocutduetoitshighmoisturecontent
- butstrugglingtofinda constantsourceledher
downa newpath.“IstartedscouringeBayfor
oldbitsoffurnituretouse.Luckily,myuncle
isa builderwhoworksonrenovationprojects
andcouldgetmelotsofreclaimedwood.
“UsingreclaimedwoodmeanswhatI make
isdictatedbythesizeoftheoffcutI have,but,
ratherthanit beinga constraint,it means
everythingisuniqueandhasitsownhistory.
I lovegivinga newleaseoflifetosomething
that’sbeendeemedwaste.”
Aftera yearofhoningherskills,andhaving
beenmaderedundantfromherdayjob,Sophie
decidedtotaketheplungeandlaunchedher
brandGrain&Knot.Withsomehelpfrom
ThePrince’sTrust,shesetherselfupwithtools
anda websiteandsettowork,initiallyselling
throughInstagram,thenthroughmarkets.Her
businessquicklygatheredpaceasshebeganto
bestockedinindependentstores.ThenNigella
boughtsomeofheritems.“Thatwasa bitofa
shock!”shesays.“Ikeptthinking,‘I’llgiveit a
fewmoremonths,’butI soonrealisedit could
actuallybemyproperjob.”
Handcraftingeverythingherselfishugely
timeconsuming.“SomedaysI’llonlycarve
fora coupleofhoursandonothersI’lldo
15 hoursstraightandgotobedat3am.»"CONSIDERING HOW CLUMSY I AM,
I MAY BE IN THE WRONG PROFESSION"
PHOTOGRAPHY: APPEAR HERE