Denis McCartain
Woodturning
Denis McCartain
I was born in Whangarei 1953 and I'm married with four grown children. I started woodturning in 1974. I am self-taught as I wanted to work at home and live in the country. We bought a property at Marua just out of Hikurangi.
For 25 years I worked on orders from craft shops and museum shops making bowls, goblets, trinkets boxes, etc. from New Zealand kauri and rimu. With four children and a mortgage this was an effective way to pay the bills, although not easy. It did however, really hone my turning skills, knowledge of timber and concentration level.
In 1999 I built my own gallery The Turning Post at Marua. This marked a change in my turning as I was able to slowly get away from production work. With tourism in full swing, the gallery went really well and I enjoyed interacting with customers - mostly from overseas.
In 2009 we purchased a property at Waipu and moved down here in 2017. I have just finished fitting out my gallery and will be opening soon. My turning now is more for satisfaction than profit.
Now more than ever, the hero of my work is the wood. New Zealand has very beautiful native timber and I like to use my skills to highlight the natural beauty of the wood.
Denis McCartain
3785 S.H.1 Waipu
Contact me - 0220250090
Denis McCartain
I was born in Whangarei 1953 and I'm married with four grown children. I started woodturning in 1974. I am self-taught as I wanted to work at home and live in the country. We bought a property at Marua just out of Hikurangi.
For 25 years I worked on orders from craft shops and museum shops making bowls, goblets, trinkets boxes, etc. from New Zealand kauri and rimu. With four children and a mortgage this was an effective way to pay the bills, although not easy. It did however, really hone my turning skills, knowledge of timber and concentration level.
In 1999 I built my own gallery The Turning Post at Marua. This marked a change in my turning as I was able to slowly get away from production work. With tourism in full swing, the gallery went really well and I enjoyed interacting with customers - mostly from overseas.
In 2009 we purchased a property at Waipu and moved down here in 2017. I have just finished fitting out my gallery and will be opening soon. My turning now is more for satisfaction than profit.
Now more than ever, the hero of my work is the wood. New Zealand has very beautiful native timber and I like to use my skills to highlight the natural beauty of the wood.
Denis McCartain
3785 S.H.1 Waipu
Contact me - 0220250090