Play & Exploration

Play is about robust, hands-on features that spark imagination and invite physical adventure. These features are designed to do just that. This work is about creating opportunities for play, rather than providing instructions. Each piece is crafted from natural materials, which age beautifully and develop character over time. They inspire children to explore, invent, and connect with nature in their own way.

What Is It?

What I Make

I focus on open-ended elements that spark movement and storytelling. These include climbing structures, balance trails, fairy-tale furniture, den-making kits, and tactile outdoor learning tools. All of these are made from solid timber and Robinia poles, which were chosen for their strength and warm feel.

How Its Shaped

Play begins with how a child moves and imagines. Design comes from that perspective, prioritising grip, scale, texture, and risk-aware challenges. The process is hands-on and natural. You shape timber by hand, test and assemble structures, and refine the details. This ensures it feels exciting, secure, and alive under your hands and feet. The material's natural form often complements the final shape.

Thought Behind It

Good play equipment doesn't tell you what to do; it suggests what's possible. The pieces serve as backdrops for stories, sparks for collaboration, and subtle landmarks in a landscape. They should last for years and feel natural in their setting, much like a tree to climb or a log to balance on.

Where It Fits

This work belongs wherever people welcome play as part of learning and living. Schools, public parks, community gardens, and woodland adventure spaces display this. It's for places that value touch, resilience, and imagination. Here, play can flow naturally throughout the day.

Overview

The approach to play is rooted in simple beliefs. The best play environments act as a gentle stage for childhood, not a script for it. I see my role as crafting the props and setting: the towers, bridges, dens, and benches. Children can then claim these templates and remake them through their own imagination. This work sits at the intersection of landscape carpentry. It blends childhood development and pure, practical fun. Every piece starts by understanding how children move, work together, and explore. Safety and durability are essential, but the true aim is to create something that feels alive. Something with texture, warmth, and enough mystery or adventure to invite repeat use. I work almost only with solid timber and Robinia. These aren’t only sustainable choices; they are tactile ones. Wood feels different underhand than plastic or steel. It weathers, silvers, and tells a story of use and season. A climbing pole shaped by hand always has a unique grip. Or a sandpit edge built from a broad oak plank becomes a seat, a stage or a balance beam. These pieces are designed to integrate into the life of a place. They withstand weather and vigorous use while maturing gracefully. They become familiar landmarks in a park, school, or garden. I hope that they don’t just facilitate play, but that they quietly enrich the landscape. Eventually, fostering a long-term, sensory connection between children and the natural world.