Q&A: James Carroll

James Carroll has been making things since childhood, and making things out of wood specifically for 15 years. Born in Dublin and now residing in Ireland's Wicklow mountains, James is a deft hand at wood carving with an artists' appreciation of the most common and overlooked of materials.

We spoke to James ahead of his drop-in Wooden Speaker Housing Workshop which forms part of our London Design Festival program.

I primarily design and make furniture, though this often leads me in different directions including saw milling, forestry management, green woodworking, traditional building, metal work, Frisbee...

I repeatedly tend towards wood, although I like incorporating other materials when I can. I use hand tools most of the time. However, on the occasions I have to drive a screw by hand, I realise that life would be very hard without a battery drill.

I remember making a boat. It was a landing craft for my soldiers and their vehicles, gleaned scrap wood. It was 1980, and I was 6. I proudly showed it to an old carpenter that I knew and he said it was very good even though I could tell he didn't really think so.

Goats cheese, sun dried tomatoes, basil pesto with something foraged?

It is simply an afternoon workshop to make a speaker housing out of wood and metal for Technology Will Save Us' speaker.

It will give people a chance to engage with some basic hand tools and make a little wooden speaker that will hopefully enhance their home and their listening pleasure.

Join James for his Wooden Speaker Housing Workshop at our show during the London Design Festival on Sunday 21st of September. Booking is now open via Eventbrite and full details can be found on our LDF website.

Images courtesy of James Carroll