Manasota Woodwork

Manasota Woodwork I am a 2nd generation woodworker, living on Manasota Key in Englewood, FL. My goal is to create quality pieces that will last an eternity.

My primary passion is wood turning, an artistic quality I found after years of thinking I had none.

Wood carries its history with it. This bowl began as a cherry tree growing in North Carolina.Long before it reached my w...
06/17/2026

Wood carries its history with it.

This bowl began as a cherry tree growing in North Carolina.

Long before it reached my workshop in Florida, it weathered storms, seasons, and years of growth.

You can still see that history in the grain.

Every ring tells part of the story.

Every curve reveals something the tree experienced during its life.

That’s one reason I never get tired of working with wood.

Every blank is unique.

Every project starts with a story.

If you want to own a piece of that story, this is available.

$375.

A machine could make a bowl. A machine can produce thousands of identical bowls.What it can’t do is decide which grain p...
06/16/2026

A machine could make a bowl.

A machine can produce thousands of identical bowls.

What it can’t do is decide which grain pattern deserves attention.

It can’t feel the subtle changes in the wood.

It can’t choose to leave the bark edge because it adds character.

That’s the difference between manufacturing and craftsmanship.

Both have value.

But only one leaves fingerprints behind.

This hand-turned piece is available.
$375.

Most people see bark as a defect. The bark edge is what drew me to this piece of cherry in the first place.Traditional w...
06/14/2026

Most people see bark as a defect.

The bark edge is what drew me to this piece of cherry in the first place.

Traditional woodworking often removes every trace of where the tree came from.

Live edge work does the opposite.

It preserves the boundary between the tree and the world around it.

No two bark edges are ever identical.

No templates.
No shortcuts.
No duplicates.

Just a reminder that nature rarely repeats itself.

18 x 3.3 Live Cherry Centerpiece Bowl,Finished with General Finishes “Wood Bowl Finish” -food safe & maintenance-free.

Available now.
$375.

Creating something is a different kind of therapy. Every craftsman has a reason they walk into the shop.Some do it to ma...
06/13/2026

Creating something is a different kind of therapy.

Every craftsman has a reason they walk into the shop.

Some do it to make money.

Some do it for relaxation.

Some do it because creating something with your own hands brings a sense of peace that’s hard to find anywhere else.

For me, a pile of wood shavings on the floor has always felt better than a night spent staring at a screen.

This bowl represents another evening spent building something instead of wasting time.

And I’m grateful for every one of those evenings.

Available now.
$375.

The tree did most of the work. I spent several hours turning this bowl.The cherry tree spent decades becoming the wood t...
06/12/2026

The tree did most of the work.

I spent several hours turning this bowl.

The cherry tree spent decades becoming the wood that made it possible.

That’s one of the things woodworking teaches you: patience.
We live in a world that expects everything immediately, but nature doesn’t work that way.

The figure, color, grain, and character in this bowl took years to develop.

I just had the privilege of revealing it.

Hand-turned live edge cherry bowl.

13.5” x 3.3”

Now available.
$375.

Some bowls are made. Others are discovered. This week’s featured piece is a hand-turned live edge cherry bowl measuring ...
06/11/2026

Some bowls are made. Others are discovered.

This week’s featured piece is a hand-turned live edge cherry bowl measuring 13.5” across and 3.3” high at its tallest point.

The cherry wood originated in North Carolina and still carries its natural bark edge, preserving part of the tree’s original character.

One of my favorite parts of woodturning is that every piece begins with a decision: remove the imperfections or celebrate them.

For this bowl, I chose to celebrate them.

Finished with General Finishes Wood Bowl Finish, making it food safe and maintenance free.

Available now.

$375.

Every bowl I make is proof that people can change.I didn’t always believe that to be true.I used to spend my life destro...
06/02/2026

Every bowl I make is proof that people can change.

I didn’t always believe that to be true.

I used to spend my life destroying things:
my health, my relationships, my future, my peace.

Now I spend my free time creating.

This bowl came from a Juniper tree destroyed during Hurricane Milton, and maybe that’s why I connect with it so much.

Storms leave damage behind.

But damage doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Sometimes it becomes the beginning of something entirely different.

Hand-turned Juniper wood bowl.
8 inches wide and 3.6 inches tall.
Finished with “Wood Bowl Finish”— food safe and maintenance-free.

Creating instead of destroying.

That’s the goal now.

$70

This tree got a second life. So did I.I don’t think it’s coincidence that I’m so drawn to reclaimed, and in this case, s...
05/31/2026

This tree got a second life. So did I.

I don’t think it’s coincidence that I’m so drawn to reclaimed, and in this case, storm damaged wood.

There’s meaning in taking something written off and giving it purpose again.

This Juniper tree fell during Hurricane Milton in Englewood, Florida.

Instead of ending up burned, chipped, or buried in a landfill, part of it became this bowl.

And honestly, recovery feels a lot like that too.
You don’t become a different person overnight.
You rebuild slowly.
You shape something new out of what survived.

Hand-turned Juniper bowl measuring 8 inches across and 3.6 inches tall.
Finished with “Wood Bowl Finish”

The woodshop gave me something I hadn’t felt in years: QuietNot silence. Quiet.The kind where your mind finally slows do...
05/30/2026

The woodshop gave me something I hadn’t felt in years: Quiet

Not silence.

Quiet.

The kind where your mind finally slows down for a minute.

No chaos.

No self-destruction.

No needing to escape your own thoughts.

Just the sound of tools, sanding dust, and a piece of wood slowly becoming something else.

This Juniper bowl started as a tree destroyed during Hurricane Milton.

Now it sits calm and still under light instead of ground up in landfill.

That transformation means something to me.

Hand-turned Juniper wood bowl.
8” × 3.6”.
Food safe and maintenance-free finish using “Wood Bowl Finish”.

Available now.

$70

The best wood usually isn’t the cleanest. A slab of perfectly milled walnut or cherry certainly has its own charm,But wo...
05/29/2026

The best wood usually isn’t the cleanest.

A slab of perfectly milled walnut or cherry certainly has its own charm,

But wood with scars, twists, mineral streaks, knots, and history?

That’s the stuff I’m drawn to.

Storm-fallen wood has tension in it. Character.
Unpredictability.

This Juniper bowl came from a tree destroyed during Hurricane Milton here in Englewood.

A lot of people would’ve hauled it to the curb.

Instead, part of it now lives on as something handcrafted and functional.

8 inches wide.
3.6 inches tall.
Hand-turned and finished with “Wood Bowl Finish”.

I think people are kind of the same way.

Theirs scars give them character.

Address

N Beach Road
Englewood, FL
34223

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