Wooden Spoons – Hand Carved from Local WNC Hardwoods

Live Art Demo – Saturday August 10th, 2019

Starting at 11:00 AM

Wooden Spoons by Fran “the Spoon Man” Chicoine

We are proud to announce a new line of wooden kitchen tools here at the Mountain Made gallery – Rose Creek Spoons.

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Rose Creek Spoons are wooden spoons that have been individually hand carved. They made from select Appalachian Mountain hardwoods such as Dogwood, Mt Laurel and Black Walnut.

They are carefully sanded, polished and finished using only with walnut oil and beeswax, so they safe for daily use and gentle on all cookware.

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Rose Creek Spoons owner and woodworker Fran (Francis) Chicoine says he uses only used local wood he collects from his backyard, the forest floor or hmmm…pilfered from friend’s firewood piles.

Fran who had spent his life as a self-employed carpenter/builder, was given a novel by his sister titled “Spoonwood” written by Ernest Herbert.

In the book, a “ne-er do well” vagabond taught himself how to make wooden spoons in order to support himself and his child.

Since Fran and his wife Mary had just moved to the Franklin NC area, he was inspired to try his own hand at spoon making.

Yet despite his previous years of woodworking skills, he jokes that “millions” (or at least hundreds of thousands) of pieces of wood passed through his hands before he perfected this new craft.

Using a simple hand tools, like a draw knife, chisel, and a spoon gouge, he hand carves and shapes each spoon.

As you have seen for yourself, we think Fran has perfected his craft and moved from apprentice to master artisan.

After doing some research (and a lot of trial and error), Fran says his favorite spoon woods are the Mountain Laurel and the ever popular Dogwood. Being bushes or small trees, their wood is not commercially harvested, hence his wood pile “pilfering”.

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We also have on hand, two of what Fran calls “Treasure Trove” or ‘treeware’ boxes.

Each box is handcrafted directly from tree trunks. The wood used is responsibly harvested native hardwoods not processed lumber. “Sometimes people cut down trees and call me and I go over and get the wood,” he says.

Interested? We invite you to come by the gallery to check out Fran’s wooden spoons for yourself.