Michelle Mateo
My passion for craft began in 2013 when I was introduced to green woodworking whilst volunteering with a woodland community called the Cherrywood Project. I began volunteering a year before completing my degree in Environmental Management at the University of the West of England, and the main focus of my studies was ecological conservation and the growing need for people to reconnect to their environment, understand it and to protect it.
With the admiration of the use of local resources intertwined with sustainable forestry and land use and over the years, I try to echo this within my work. I enjoy working off-grid, using only native hardwood from sustainably managed woodlands as part of a natural thinning and woodland regeneration process.
I'm proud to announce that I'm 3rd place winner of The Worshipful Company Basket Makers 2021 Basketry Competition. My bowl turning has also featured on Escape to the Farm with Kate Humble on Channel 5, catch my episode here - https://www.my5.tv/escape-to-the-farm-with-kate-humble/season-2/episode-7 My work has also featured in Quercus Magazine.
I’m inspired by the natural environment and learning about traditional techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation. I hope to enrich others with craft in their daily lives, reconnect with their environment and to improve mental health.
With the admiration of the use of local resources intertwined with sustainable forestry and land use and over the years, I try to echo this within my work. I enjoy working off-grid, using only native hardwood from sustainably managed woodlands as part of a natural thinning and woodland regeneration process.
I'm proud to announce that I'm 3rd place winner of The Worshipful Company Basket Makers 2021 Basketry Competition. My bowl turning has also featured on Escape to the Farm with Kate Humble on Channel 5, catch my episode here - https://www.my5.tv/escape-to-the-farm-with-kate-humble/season-2/episode-7 My work has also featured in Quercus Magazine.
I’m inspired by the natural environment and learning about traditional techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation. I hope to enrich others with craft in their daily lives, reconnect with their environment and to improve mental health.