Ocean Craftworks

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Ocean Craftworks Ocean Craftworks Cornwall: Sustainable crafts shaped by the ocean and anchored in heritage.

Bringing tradition and eco-conscious artistry together in every handcrafted creation.

https://oceancraftworks.sumupstore.com

Today I’m installing Ocean Craftworks at the St Ives Artisan Market Island Centre in St Ives, right on The Rope Walk, an...
30/08/2026

Today I’m installing Ocean Craftworks at the St Ives Artisan Market Island Centre in St Ives, right on The Rope Walk, an area with a wonderful connection to the town’s fishing heritage.

The Rope Walk was once used for the making and laying out of ropes for St Ives’ fishing boats. With rope needing long, clear stretches of ground as it was made and prepared, these rope walks were an important part of the working fishing town and were surrounded by net and sail lofts.

My grandad went to school in what is now the centre, and he was the person who first taught me about boats, fishing and the traditions of St Ives. A lot of what I’m trying to capture in Ocean Craftworks comes from those early memories of “helping” in his boat shed and the stories he passed on to me.

So it feels particularly fitting to have my little boats and pieces of Cornish maritime heritage displayed here, in a place where he once walked to school, and where the sounds and sights of the fishing industry would have been such a familiar part of everyday life.

Shaped by the ocean, anchored in heritage.

If you’re visiting The Island in St Ives, do have a look.

Great to see one of our framed Cork-an-Barbors arrive safely in Thailand!Available against backdrops of Atlantic waves o...
28/08/2026

Great to see one of our framed Cork-an-Barbors arrive safely in Thailand!

Available against backdrops of Atlantic waves or Cornish harbours and made from real cork fishing floats, these are a beautiful Cornish tradition that I’m proud to keep going.

Find out more here: OceanCraftworks.sumupstore.com

A huge thank you to Cornish Spliced for these fantastic fishing floats and an old tea chest.Cornish Spliced are a Cornis...
12/08/2026

A huge thank you to Cornish Spliced for these fantastic fishing floats and an old tea chest.

Cornish Spliced are a Cornish family business working with traditional fishing ropes, netting and marine materials, so it feels particularly fitting to give some of these materials a new life through Ocean Craftworks.

The floats will become Drifters and other sustainable boat sculptures that actually sail made with materials that are shaped by the ocean and anchored in Cornwall’s maritime heritage.

And the tea chest will be turned into sails for our traditional Cork an Barbor boats. My grandfather and great uncle always said that finding an old tea chest at Porthgwidden dump when they were boys was one of the best things they could hope for when searching for materials to make CorkanBarbors.

Cork an Barbors are part of an old Cornish tradition of making small sailing boats from whatever materials were available, often using discarded materials from the fishing industry.

It’s wonderful to be able to work alongside another Cornish small family business, both keeping Cornwall’s maritime heritage alive through the things we make, and giving materials a new life in the process.

Thank you again, Cornish Spliced. ❤️

Shaped by the ocean, anchored in heritage.

Grabbing some inspiration from the Pendennis Ship Yard and the beautiful boats of the River Fal.
08/08/2026

Grabbing some inspiration from the Pendennis Ship Yard and the beautiful boats of the River Fal.

I had a wonderful chat with my grandad today about him making Cork-an-Barbors as a boy in St Ives. He and his friends wo...
04/08/2026

I had a wonderful chat with my grandad today about him making Cork-an-Barbors as a boy in St Ives. He and his friends would head down to the harbour after chapel - or sometimes sneak out during the service - to search for broken or discarded cork net floats.

For the sails, they'd rummage through the old dump at Porthgwidden for broken wooden blinds or other thin pieces of timber. Keels were made from pieces of slate or the iron hoops from old barrels. Everything was shaped by hand with a penknife, with a slot cut into the cork so the sail could be fitted.

Then came the real test. They'd launch them from the rocks beneath the Island, at Crack o' Dumplings, or from the quay - depending on the wind - and watch to see whose boat caught the breeze best, rode the waves, and survived the occasional stone thrown in its direction!

I think that's what I love most about Cork-an-Barbors. No two corks are ever the same, so every boat has its own character. Each one needs a carefully matched sail and keel to balance it perfectly and help it sail at its very best, just as those boys discovered all those years ago.

It's a small piece of St Ives history, ingenuity and childhood adventure that deserves to be remembered.

There's lots of wonderful examples on view at the fantastic St. Ives Museum and the St Ives Archive have fantastic pictures of children playing with boats in the harbour.

If you'd like to own one of these traditional little boats, you'll find them here:
OceanCraftworks.sumupstore.com

Come and see us today (Sunday) at the St Ives Artisan Market in the Island Centre, St Ives. Full range of boats availabl...
02/08/2026

Come and see us today (Sunday) at the St Ives Artisan Market in the Island Centre, St Ives.

Full range of boats available: St Ives Sloop, Cornish Heritage Fleet, Cork-an-Barbors, Drifters.

10am-4pm

I was very honoured earlier this year to be asked to make a traditional Cork an Barbor to go on display in The Pilchard ...
01/08/2026

I was very honoured earlier this year to be asked to make a traditional Cork an Barbor to go on display in The Pilchard Press Alehouse in St Ives as part of their 10 year anniversary.

The Pilchard Press is home to the Cork an Barbor Shanty Crew and the model celebrates this.

Cork-an-Barbors were traditionally made by fishermen from old cork net floats in and around St Ives harbour with balsa wood sails and slate or iron keels.

If you’re in St Ives pop into the Pilchard Press to see the boat and try the brilliant beers they have on offer in a great traditional Cornish Alehouse. You might even get to hear a shanty!

Later this month Cork an Barbors are holding a night of shanties in the Harbour Hotel. Check out their page for details.

You can get your own Cork an Barbor here: OceanCraftworks.sumupstore.com

Shaped by the ocean, anchored in heritage.

The DrifterShaped by the ocean, anchored in heritage. Every Drifter begins life as a reclaimed fishing net float, weathe...
31/07/2026

The Drifter

Shaped by the ocean, anchored in heritage.

Every Drifter begins life as a reclaimed fishing net float, weathered by years of tides, storms and hard work off the Cornish coast. Rather than letting these pieces of maritime history disappear, I give them a new purpose.

Handcrafted in Cornwall, each Drifter is individually carved, rigged, and fitted with an aged sail, creating a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Cork-an-Barbors once sailed around the harbours and beaches of St Ives and Mount’s Bay.

No two are ever the same. Every mark and weathered surface tells the story of a life already lived at sea.

Whether displayed at home, in a holiday cottage or business in their unique driftwood stands, or taken down to the water to catch the wind once more, each Drifter carries a little of Cornwall’s maritime heritage with it.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Ocean Craftworks so far, it really does mean a great deal.

Oceancraftworks.sumupstore.com

Handcrafted in Cornwall.

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