About Me

Living in the picturesque village of Cromarty on the Black Isle you will find Jim Pennie the person behind Cromarty woodturning.  Jim has always had a shed in the garden where for over 22 years he has enjoyed discovering the craft of woodturning.  Having retired in 2014 he knew that this was the time that he could turn his hobby into a full time vocation.

He built his workshop at the end of his garden and this is where Cromarty woodturning was born.

Jim works predominantly with wood sourced from within 50 miles of Cromarty.  He acquires a lot of green wood from wind blown trees, and trees that have to be removed as they are deemed dangerous.  This wood is cut down into manageable sizes and left to dry for 2 or 3 years before being used.  He also sources wood from other local trades and professions, accessing waste wood and off cuts which would normally be burnt.

Jim turns a full range of produce including bowls, platters, goblets and candlesticks however what he enjoys making the most is lamps.  He gets a deep sense of satisfaction from creating something that will be a feature in peoples homes. He is known locally for making brightly coloured pinstriped lamps. These lamps bring out strong opinions from people that either love or hate them.  He has been perfecting a number of other techniques to bring a bit of life to an otherwise plain piece of wood.

Jim has more recently taken to a bit of upcycling in his love of lamps. He sources older items that people often use for decoration and converts them into lamps, making them functional as well as decorative.? You will find an array of these lamps in the ‘Other Projects’ tab from old hurricane and oil lamps to brass blowtorches and even old musical instruments, anything can be converted into a lamp and still be decorative and interesting.

The items that you will find on this website give a flavour of what Jim does.  You will find a list of items that are currently for sale in his Etsy page.  If you see something that you like that is not listed for sale then please do get in touch as Jim can make these items to order.

If you are looking for a bespoke item or something in particular then please do get in touch. Jim is very happy to undertake commissions and will always agree on a price before starting.

If you have any questions of queries please get in touch via the contact page.