11/08/2026
New Forest Hazel & Blue Acrylic Vase
This unusual vase has a rather special connection to the history and landscape of the New Forest.
The hazel used to create it was cut from an old hedge bordering Heywood Sumner House and my brother’s property at North Gorley in the New Forest.
Heywood Sumner House takes its name from the Arts and Crafts artist, designer and antiquarian George Heywood Maunoir Sumner, who made his home at Cuckoo Hill in the early 20th century. That connection makes the origins of this particular piece of hazel especially interesting.
Rather than turning the vase from a conventional solid piece of timber, I cut the hazel into individual sections and combined them with a wonderfully rich blue and purple acrylic resin before turning the whole piece on the lathe.
The result is completely unique.
Around the outside, the natural hazel appears to rise through the translucent blue resin, while looking down into the vase reveals something quite different: dozens of individual cross-sections of the branches, showing their growth rings and natural markings. The contrast between the warm, understated hazel and the jewel-like blues and purples of the acrylic is particularly beautiful when the light catches it.
Every stage has been completed by hand in my Dorset workshop, from preparing the original hazel through to casting, turning, shaping and polishing the finished piece.
It is not simply a decorative vase, but a little piece of the New Forest landscape, preserved in a completely new form.
As with all my work, this is a genuine one-off. There can never be another exactly like it.
Please message me if you’re interested in putting this beautiful vibrant vase in a place of prominence in your home. It’s completely waterproof inside if you want to use it for cut flowers.