The Diary of an Apprentice Letter Carver

I qualified as a stonemason last July and completed an incredibly enjoyable and memorable stonemasonry apprenticeship with The Prince's Foundation for Building Community in which I made so many friends and worked on so many historic buildings. During that time, I had a two-week letter carving placement with Bernard Johnson, a very talented and friendly letter carver based in Oxfordshire. It was with him that I picked up the bug for letter carving and realised that I didn't want to do anything else. He didn't have an apprentice opportunities at that time, but pointed me in the direction of Fergus Wessel, another letter carver in Oxfordshire. I went to visit Fergus at his Stonecutters workshop and after a week's trial, he was able to offer me a four-year apprenticeship. I am both incredibly lucky to have been given the chance of being his new apprentice, not least because he himself was trained at the prestigious Kindersley Studio. A diary of my experience as an apprentice letter carver has recently been published on his blog and can be found here. It's accompanied by pictures and a very interesting video tutorial. It's a must for anyone looking to get into letter carving. More to follow in the coming weeks.

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My Letter Carving Workshop is Now Open for Business!

Life-living letter carver, carve me a letter crisp on my headstone and fill it with wonder I'd like to carve it, but you would do better, for you stand above this earth and I am laid under. - Tom Wiggins My new letter carving workshop is now open for business. Taking bespoke commissions such as memorials (including headstones and cremation tablets), opening plaques and heraldry. If you're looking for fine hand-carved lettering designed and carved by a fully trained stonemason and letter carver, please get in touch. I'd be very happy to talk you through the process from design stage right through to installation. Telephone: 07791969667 E-mail: tomwiggins86@gmail.com Website: www.tomwiggins.co.uk A bit about me: Born and raised in Gloucester, I now live and work as a letter carver in the beautiful market town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. My journey in stone began in 2013 with a three-year Diploma in Stonemasonry at The City of Bath College. Th...

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Tom Wiggins, Letter Carver & Writer

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