Philosophy
At Forest Crafts, our inspiration comes from wood and our livelihood depends upon it.
Come and visit our farm just outside Hatherleigh and share our vision of a sustainable future for Britain’s woodlands and countryside. Set in some of Devon’s most beautiful and unspoilt countryside, Lower Upcott farm comprises around 43 acres of woodland and pasture, both of which are worked by shire horses.
We are passionate about the future of the countryside and in particular British woodlands and our woodland craft heritage and skills base.
We are in the process of developing a self sufficient and sustainable enterprise which has a substantial educational element. We hope this will inspire both children and adults who visit us.
Here at Lower Upcott Farm, our aim is to look at farming in a very different way from conventional modern farming. Modern farming has been obsessed by output, and quality has often suffered. On this farm, we are obsessed by quality and we think that we can make the farming system work for us by actually going back in time and learning from methods and systems used in the past. In a nutshell, to use the best of the past with the best of the future. Our aim here is to produce top quality beef, pork and vegetables using environmentally friendly age old common sense methods, that do not have a bad impact on the environment.
Where possible, we try and incorporate these values and systems in our woodland crafts business. All the timber that we buy comes from British woodlands, mostly within 30 miles. We also have our own woodland, which we manage as sensitively as possible. All timber is extracted using the horses, and any timber which has no real value, is made into charcoal.
Testimonials
Here are just a few of the testimonials we have received from satisfied customers:
"Just a note to say the bird baths were beautiful. I think the three looked really good together and my mum was over the moon with them. Looking to do some work in my garden soon so may be buying some more bits from you!" Hayley S
"Ben, Just to say that having discovered your website recently, my husband was persuaded to buy me a flute bird bath. It looks wonderful in the border below a silver birch and I now have the added pleasure of watching the birds use it. A very nice present (I just wasn't tempted by those stone pompous looking birdbaths). I'm hoping it will get lots of admirers and I will pass on your details. All the best may your Forest Crafts flourish/continue to flourish.
" Jackie G
"Good morning. Just to let you know that the mushrooms were waiting for us when we got home on Thursday. Really pleased with them – they are lovely." Tessa
"Hi Tessa and Ben. I’d just like to pass on my sincerest thanks for the mushrooms you crafted and sent. They were for my mum’s birthday and she was over the moon with them. They are quite fantastic! Two arrived on 5th October, the other yesterday. Thank you again for your efforts." Michelle
"WE REC/D OUR WOODEN OWL A FEW WEEKS AGO AND JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW HOW GREAT IT LOOKS IN OUR WOODLAND GARDEN. MY DAUGHTER WANTS YOU TO CARVE A SMALLER TOTROISE!"
"Dear Ben/Tessa. Thank you so much-the scarecrow spare parts arrived yesterday.
I now need to trawl the charity shops for some more clothes!! Thank you again." Katherine T
"Thanks very much - we received the seats yesterday and some pupils wheelbarrowed them round to the area they want to use - it looks like a pixie glade...." Peter
"Received today group of garden seating mushrooms. Just wanted to let you know that I think they are fab! Thankyou."
"Received my mushrooms this morning. Just wanted to say a big thank you. They are wonderful and I shall be a return customer. Many thanks again." Angie
"Hi Ben. Just to say thank you very much - my brother received his owl yesterday and he’s delighted with it. My five year old niece has named it Woody and it’s proudly sitting in his back garden. Thanks once again" Kim
"Dear Ben I know I said it more than once but thankyou again for my really wonderful addition to our school. He is so much better than I could ever imagined and I cannot wait to see the expressions on the children's faces when they arrive on Monday morning." Penny
"Here are some photos of the animals in the natural surroundings in the wood in Nottingham ... Ben thank you so much for the support and your beautiful work." Mirriam
"Just a short message to let you know that I received Hedgehog,and Fun Guy Mushroom today and we are very pleased with our purchase." Mr K H
"Recieved the scarecrow on Mon. Delighted and neighbourhood are amazed. Hope to be in touch for other fabulous goods. Many thanks" Aileen R
"My order arrived in good shape, yesterday - thank you for the good packaging. I am very pleased with the mushrooms." Anne D
"The snail arrived bright and early on Saturday morning. Thank so much for your help, my Dad loves it.
" Patricia
"Thank you for sending the Toadstools, we are very pleased with them and will make a great Christmas present." Joanne G
"Thank you so much, I received my Funguy yesterday (Thursday) he is absolutely amazing better than the Internet pictures. It is a present to my Dad from my children for the back garden. The children love him as will my Dad on Christmas Day I'm sure!" Claire
"Just to say a big thank you for sending my order out so quickly. I am sure my mum and dad will love their Christmas present as much as my friend did when I gave her the set in August. I will certainly be ordering some more." Lynda C
"A note to thank you very much for carving the wooden owl at short notice.
It arrived safely on Wednesday evening as promised. We are delighted with it and have no doubt it will be well received on Christmas Day.
" Peter B
"Hi, I bought a medium mushroom seat on tuesday and it arrived this morning. I'd just like to say thank you for sending it so quickly. I really appreciate it. And above all, the mushroom is very cute!" Erica L
"Hi, Received group of parasol mushrooms today. I am very pleased with the quality of mushrooms and I hope to more from you in the future." Sharon W
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS
All prices shown on this site are in GB Pounds Sterling.
Postage and Packaging
Shipping is free to the United Kingdom mainland*.
*Certain areas of Scotland may incur a delivery charge. This is usually the Highlands and certain other outlying areas. If there is an extra delivery charge, we will contact you after you place your order, giving you the option to cancel if you wish.
Order Times and Delivery
We are a small family run company. All our sculptures and wooden products are hand crafted from trees. Every order is started from scratch upon its receipt and we do not keep large stockpiles of pre-made products. We do keep a small selection of some products in stock so if you need something quickly, it is worth enquiring anyway.
We are always happy to discuss any of our products or services with you but if you ring and we do not answer in person please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. If we are not in the office answering the telephone we are probably in the workshop making up orders.
Customer service is important to us and we aim to make and send our products as soon as possible; this is normally within two weeks. If you need to have something delivered by a certain date, for example a wedding or birthday please feel free to contact us by email (benmay@forestcrafts.co.uk) or ring on 01837 811123 to check that this is possible.
For certain products, such as wooden animals, bugs, wooden benches, etc, making and delivery can take a little longer as there are several stages to the production process. These items may take up to a month or even more, depending upon how busy we are and how complex the work is. Please do talk to us if you are at all worried about timescales and we will let you know whether we are able to make the products in time for you.
We will always do our very best for you to create and send out orders as soon as possible but because we are required to set terms and conditions we have to say that our official lead time (the duration between ordering and dispatch) is one month for simple products such as mushrooms and longer by mutual agreement for larger and more complex products and commissions.
Receiving your order:
Large parcels may need to be signed for. In the event that no one is available to sign, goods will be returned to our carrier’s depot and you will be contacted to arrange a convenient time to re-deliver, at no extra cost.
The Nature of Wood:
It is important to note that most wooden sculptures are carved out of a single piece of green wood. This means that on drying and wetting they will be prone to the forces of contraction and expansion. This may manifest itself as stress fractures or splits and so add to their natural character. These will tend to open in hot or dry weather and close again during our more normal English weather. This is an entirely natural process. If you are worried by the splitting, then you can keep them in a shady spot during really hot weather and/or put them in water so they can reabsorb more moisture. They should not be kept indoors as the contractive forces may be too great. This does not apply to sculptural pieces which are described as for indoor use in the product descriptions.
Oak benches and storytelling chairs. We do supply sculptures, benches and story telling chairs made in oak and we believe there is nothing to beat oak in terms of durability and it’s sheer beauty. However, it is susceptible to some movement and occasionally splitting as a result of the contraction caused by variable weather and atmospheric conditions. This is entirely normal and does not affect the strength of the oak benches or chairs, which are over engineered by a huge margin. Our advice for those who cannot tolerate splitting in the timber, is to opt for Douglas Fir (please contact us to discuss). Douglas Fir is more stable and less prone to move with the weather.
Refunds
If you are not delighted with your goods you have the right to cancel within seven days of your purchase, or seven days from the receipt of the goods (whichever is longer). If you cancel your order you will have your payment refunded, provided you return the goods at your cost to reach us in an undamaged condition. Unfortunately we are unable to refund specially commissioned pieces or pieces requiring alteration from those advertised on our website.
Complaints Procedure
We hope that you will never have cause to complain about our products or services. If however, you do have a complaint, please call us on 01837 811123 between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday and we will do our best to assist you.
General
According to United Kingdom law, you must be aged 18 or over to purchase from this web site.
Forest Crafts Ltd is Registered in England & Wales No 4161887
VAT Registration No 741 8697 96