A Rocha UK Eco Church Awards
For many years GCP’s Wood Workshop has been taking regular commissions from A Rocha UK. This charity is working for the protection and restoration of the natural world and committed to mobilising Christians and Churches in the UK to care for the environment. We have been making handcrafted plaques for Churches that qualify for an Eco Church Award.
These awards are made from recycled wood, donated to our workshop including recycled church pews (recently from St Stephen’s Comely Bank, Colinton Parish Church, St. James Church Golden Acre) and also donations of recycled timber and felled trees from construction projects (recently from North Bridge restoration, Edinburgh Futures Institute redevelopment of Old Royal Infirmary, Meadowbank Stadium redevelopment).
We put the wood through our machines to clean off any varnish, the wood is then cut into circles on the band saw and the edges finished on the disk sander. The plaques are then either passed on to one of the pyrography team or laser engraved. Pyrography is the art of burning wood. We use a hot wire to burn the image into the wood and then add paint to the awards. This is highly detailed work and requires a steady hand.
The final process is to check over the awards, drill two holes for fixing to the wall and then apply the finish. We use exterior OSMO oil which is natural mix of hard waxes and oils. The double coating of oil and varnish protects the wood making the plaques suitable for outdoor or indoor display.
We know that the Churches who receive these awards appreciate the beautiful wood they are made from and the craft, skills and talent that also goes in to each of them. Equally, they appreciate the work of The Grassmarket Community Project and our woodwork social enterprise in helping transform the lives of vulnerable people. We are grateful to the A Rocha UK team and for choosing GCP to supply these awards. Built with love, for the love of the planet.
Supporting employability
Grassmarket Furniture, formed in 2006, is one of the social enterprises in Grassmarket Community Project.
Every furniture sale helps us continue our good work. We believe every individual can make a worthwhile contribution to our community and wider society.
The woodwork team work with woodwork experts to learn valuable woodworking skills and gain practical work experience. Through placements and apprenticeships, vulnerable individuals increase their confidence and self-esteem, develop good work ethics, improve their social skills, reliability and resilience, and ultimately work towards further opportunities including formal qualifications and employment.
Working on a commission basis, our wood workshop is completely self-sustaining. We recycle unwanted church pews, windfall trees and other wood into beautiful furniture and wooden objects.
Every item is built to the customer’s exact specifications, and we can also advise on choice of wood and provide design concepts.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COMMISSIONING OUR WOOD WORKSHOP >>
For information on commissions, please contact: Jon Slight, jon@grassmarket.org
A BIG THANK YOU
The Grassmarket Community Project’s Wood Workshop on the generosity of our customers, funders and donors. Our key funders for this area of our work are John Lewis and Partners, Hub Foundation/Inspiring Scotland and Edinburgh Airport. We thank them for their essential continued support.
