Paul Wadge Tells Us About Lovespoons on PNN

Paul Wadge Tells Us About Lovespoons

Posted by christmasinwales Posted on: 01/15/08

Paul Wadge Tells Us About Lovespoons

I open the door to Paul Wadge's shop, Lovespoon Wales, one particularly cold afternoon in early January. The shop is somewhat warmer than the outside, but not overwhelmingly so. Paul explains that he doesn't turn a main heater on because it would be a fire hazard. I look at all the many different colored, different sized slabs of wood tucked up against one long wall of his shop and see his point. Also, the heat may crack the wood. Fair enough. Paul invites me back into his work area. Sawdust covers the floor. I sit in a chair that is strategically placed near a space heater. My toes warm. Paul is kind enough to bring me a cup of coffee. My insides warm, and Paul begins telling me about lovespoons.

Q: What exactly is a lovespoon?

A: Going back to the 17th century, it is believed to come from a cowl spoon. A man would carve a lovespoon for a woman based on what he wanted to say to her. A double heart is "we feel the same way" a single heart is "my heart is yours" so its almost like a love letter in wood, because obviously they were illiterate at that time, so he couldn't write her a letter. So he carved one instead. It is believed that if a woman accepted it, it was an acceptance of courtship, but it is not quite as nice as that, unfortunately. A lot of women would have quite a collection of them, and she would go around and pick the one she actually wanted.

Q: How long have you been making lovespoons?

A: The first one I carved was in the 80's.

Q: Did you immediately know that you wanted to go into business
doing this, or how did it evolve?

A: I was carving them for one of the shops in Swansea, and that was financing university because I wanted to finish off my degree and then go into lecturing, but I got bored of that so I changed my mind. I went back into cooking, because I'm a qualified chef. Lovespoon carving was more of a hobby which grew. I set up by myself four years ago.

Q: When you made your fist lovespoon did you teach yourself, or did someone else teach you how to make it?

A: I taught myself. It didn't dawn at me at the time that I couldn't do it. It was just a case of, "I can do it." And luckily, that one little thought has lead to this now.

Q: Did you have any experience in carving or anything close to that?

A: I used to do a lot of cabinet making, I've always loved wood, but no carving as such.

Q: About how long does it take to make a lovespoon?

A: That's the question I get asked all the time. It's virtually impossible to say. It can range, for a little one like that (indicates 3-4 inches with his hands) can be carved in about twenty minutes. One of the more complex spoons can take 10 days to carve. The average one would probably be about a day. Some of them are quite basic and easy to carve and can be knocked out pretty quickly. Once it gets into the Celtic knots and everything it gets more intricate and can take longer.

Q: Do people still use lovespoons today to show signs of courtship?

A: They do, actually. I've got a photograph somewhere of someone who ordered a lovespoon. I had to take a photograph of him with the knife and the chisel so that he could show his intended fianc that he carved it himself. And he used it as a symbol for engagement. As it worked out, it probably would have been cheaper for him to buy an engagement ring than the lovespoon itself because it was quite a complex one. Quite a few people have done that.

Q: That's pretty cool. But I am guessing they are used for other purposes today as well?

A: Yeah, they tend to be used for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings. Weddings in particular. And then a lot go all over the world. Not necessarily Welsh people either. There are people who read the history of the Welshspoon on the website and then like the romantic idea, and they order from that.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge with this business or with lovespoons in general?

A: Probably the Celtic panel that was 3 ft by 1 ft. It was about and inch and a half thick and that has probably been the most difficult thing so far. With lovespoons, it was an American customer whose wife was a chairperson of a daffodil growers society. He wanted a daffodil in a cage instead of a ball in a cage. So it was interesting trying to work that one out.