Originally conceived by renowned Scottish Artist and maker Tim Stead, the workshop has been home to many talented designer-makers since 1996. We’re proud to be part of an active network of innovative tree and timber specialists, furniture makers, pioneers, and environmentalists in the Scottish Borders.
Our vision is for a society that lives in harmony with our woodlands and uses local timber sensitively, valuing creativity and craftsmanship.
Our mission is for Real Wood Studios to be a focal point locally and nationally for the journey from ‘tree to table’.
Our aims are:
- To be a sustainable business, which showcases beautiful high quality local hardwoods and fine craftsmanship.
- Offering expertise and mentoring, community engagement, and employment opportunities.
- To have a harmonious balance with our natural environment through the sensitive use of local trees.
- Making quality local timber available to the local community.
Originally set up in 1996 as ‘Wood School’, a trading arm of Borders Forest Trust, a local woodland creation and conservation charity with a vision for environmentally sensitive creativity in wood.
In 2009, a group of the resident makers at the Wood School took on the project, relaunching it as Real Wood Studios, and making significant improvements to the timber operation. Real Wood Studios has become a model business for the Borders, winning the Scottish Borders Council’s 2014 Business Enterprise Award for Best Rural Business.
In January 2020, we officially changed our legal structure to a Community Interest Company (CIC). Being a CIC enhances our teamwork – all the profits go straight back into making Real Wood Studios better – and our makers work together on creative ideas, problem-solving, and major commissions.
We are a collective: community-minded, sustainably run, and for public benefit.
And we still retain close links to Borders Forest Trust, and to many other partners in the local community, interested in sustainable local hardwood products and woodcraft in the Borders.