I'm Dave, and I make things from wood — working from my shed in the heart of the National Forest in North West Leicestershire.

It started in 2016, when I got involved in a wood fuel project following a pilot by the National Forest Company. A successful grant application led to the formation of the Black to Green project in 2017, and I became part of the volunteer woodfuel group that grew alongside it. That group has since evolved into Heartwood Community Woodland Group, which now manages several woodlands for the Woodland Trust from a base near Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

As the felling sessions continued, I kept noticing larger sections of timber destined for the fire pile — sections that looked far too interesting to burn. So I borrowed a planking attachment for a chainsaw, made a few experimental planks, and quickly realised this was worth pursuing properly. I invested in a Granberg Small Log Mill from Alaskan Mill and began milling on-site, rescuing timber that would otherwise have had no value beyond heat.

Those first planks sat air-drying for a couple of years. When I finally cleaned them up and started working them, the results spoke for themselves — the character locked inside locally grown Leicestershire ash, oak, and birch is something you simply don't find in a timber merchant's yard.

Today, In The Shed Woodcraft produces handmade chopping boards, personalised gifts, decorative pieces, bespoke furniture, and corporate merchandise. Timber comes from as close to home as possible — wood I've felled and milled myself from National Forest woodland management operations, other local woodland sources in the area, or reputable local merchants where a commission calls for something specific. Wherever it comes from, each piece is made individually, by hand, in my shed.

Made in the Heart of the National Forest.