Mary Catherine O'Malley

Mary Catherine O'Malley Creating my own sunshine. �

02/12/2026

Perhaps one of the things I love most about the pole lathe is how playful the process can be. It’s nearly impossible for me to watch those shavings just flying off the bowl and dancing in the air without feeling excited and cracking a smile! It’s a good reminder that this wood has some life to it still and isn’t a completely inanimate material.

And of course the shavings don’t always dance like this, particularly at markets it’s a lot of getting in and out of the zone and flow state as I stop and talk to folks, but these little moments where the bowl, tools, and me as a maker just seem to dance together are precious.

I’m grateful for the these snippets of playful creation as well as the many wonderful conversations and connections I’ve discovered the past month at farmers markets. I’ll be taking a break from the market for the rest of the summer as I transition into summer guiding and education work. No need to worry, I’ll still be making plenty of woodshavings and fulfilling orders, just not at markets. So if you are wanting any spoons or blanks this summer before I head off to guide just shoot me a message. I’ve got just a bit of room in my books in June and early July, then I’ll be booking late August and I’ll be raising my prices slightly on some products.

Anyhow, happy summer folks and whatever you find yourself doing keep it playful-
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02/12/2026

Here’s a glimpse of today’s Intro to Spoon Carving class all set up before folks arrived and the shavings flew. This was the second of five intro classes I have scheduled over the next couple weeks and in the end 4 wonderful folks made brilliant spoons to take home with them.

These intro classes are designed as an accessible option for folks looking to try their hand at carving without having to invest in their own tools, source the wood, learn to sharpen etc… we cover the very bare bone basics of using straight and hook carving tools and then spend an hour or two working away at some pre axed out blanks from relatively soft wood. It’s nothing too in depth, but it’s a good stepping stone to explore the craft.

I find that folks attend these kind of classes for a variety of reasons. Some want to learn the nitty gritty details of technique while others are just hoping to leave with a finished spoon, and both are valid. I think sometimes within the craft/ artist teaching community we can focus so much on process that we forget many folks are simply motivated by the finished product and I thinks that’s wonderful! While it’s not always possible, I do my best to accommodate the various objectives folks have coming into these intro level opportunities. Not everyone is a wood or carving nerd like me and that’s honestly a good thing:)

If you’d like to join any of the upcoming Intro to Spoon Carving opportunities I have openings in my June 20th and July 1st classes. It’s just $20 and all tools, blanks, instruction, and of course lemonade are provided! Classes are held here in Cache Valley UT. Just shoot me a message or email and I’ll get you the details.
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02/10/2026

In classic Grant fashion I didn’t take any pictures once folks arrived, but here’s the setup before tonight’s Intro to Spoon Carving class. Add in some fast learning carvers, good conversation, herbal tea, and a couple hours and 5 new spoons emerged!

I have 3 more spots in our next Intro to Spoon Carving class on June 6th so just reach out if you’d like to join and I can get you the details. It’s $20 per person, all materials and tools provided.

This may be as good a place as any to mention that our open (and totally free!) Monthly Craft Night in June will be June 7th and will also include a potluck so mark your calendars if you are local to northern UT!
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02/10/2026

Spontaneous swims mean I empty my pockets and it’s always a good reminder for me on what I choose to carry around. While some things change with the day these usual bits and bobs are pretty constant and they always go in the same pockets. Kerchief in back left, watch and pocket spoon in front right, belt knife on right hip, tin of chapstick in the front left etc…and they generally all stay there unless I’m using something or find a good swimming hole to jump in!

I imagine other folks have their own systems, or maybe not but I find it’s these little habits that create a wonderful sense of consistency for me. This sense of pocket order probably stemmed from my dad always carrying an old timer pocketknife. It almost became a game between all of us in the family playfully competing on who could provide a pocketknife the fastest whenever one was required.

So after today’s swim I’m curious, what do you carry in your pockets? Anyone else have a specific system or just me?
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02/09/2026

Here’s a little cherry bowl I turned during today’s rainy farmers market. Fairly regularly folks will comment on the fact that I bring my pole lathe to markets and demo the process so I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on why this works for me.

Obviously it catches people’s attention. It’s visually intriguing and so it’s honestly my number one marketing strategy in getting folks to stop and look at my wares. More than that though, it creates conversations and folks will come up and ask questions, talk craft, and share stories. It’s these kind of connections that I find most rewarding.

On another practical note, it’s a great way for me to spend my time manning a market booth. When it’s slower and rainy like today, I have something to do that keeps me occupied and prepares products for upcoming events. There’s few things more discouraging to a maker than sitting and watching folks walk by all day and while I’m not one to get disheartened easily, I try to avoid that potential by keeping myself busy making product and demoing the process. Working on the lathe also creates a natural thing for me to focus my attention on so that folks can peruse my wares and not feel like I’m watching them or feel pressured to engage in conversation. I’ve come to learn that much of selling at markets is about reading people, knowing who to strike up conversations with, who to be playful and crack a joke with, and recognizing those which simply want to watch. I’m an awful salesman in that I won’t try to sell my wares or convince someone they need my product. At the end of the day no one really does and I understand that, but what folks purchase when they buy a spoon or bowl is more than simply a product. It’s a connection with me as the maker, an understanding of that product’s story, the processes the took place to make it, and for many it then becomes a symbol of something greater.

While I have experience primarily with pole lathe turning at markets I’m sure this could be applied to other processes as well. Do you sell at markets or ever demo the processes you use? I’d love to hear your thoughts-

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02/09/2026

Some real high end woodshavings in the works today:)
It’s always a joy when the byproduct is beautiful in its own right.
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02/08/2026

Why do I do things by hand? I think many folks could assume that I use hand tools only, or that I use manual methods because I believe my handmade products are somehow inherently better than something made with electric tools. That’s far from the case.

I’m coming to realize I do things by hand because I like to be intimately involved with the processes building my product and thus my business and life. I use an axe because I love how just by picking it up I must push aside the noise of the world and focus solely on the blade, my body, and the material. I use a pole lathe because I love the rhythmic process that engages almost every single one of my senses. I am beginning to realize this is the same reason I choose to be self employed, the same reason I take product orders directly, or stop by the post office rather then using online shipping program. When I’m involved it takes skill, intention, and human connection. I get to choose what to do and what to allow someone else to do for me, and that choice is important to me.

Wonderfully, it’s different for every person. We each can choose how to structure our processes to better meet our personalities and needs. So how about you? Are you a manual by hand kind of person, all modern tech and innovation, or maybe a blend between the two? Do you know why?
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02/07/2026

First bowl turned on the new lathe today, and yup it works! Tomorrow I’m going to take it outside and do a more thorough test but I’m quite pleased so far with how it all came together. The idea behind this lathe is for it to function as a display table, canopy, and lathe all in one. We’ll see how it works in the coming weeks at the farmers market. I’m sure I’ll be tweaking things over time.

I’ve only ever used portable lathes before, ones with a relatively small bed and thin legs. This one has a massive bed and solid ash legs so it’s got some weight to it. One of the byproducts of having such a hefty lathe is that it’s solid! I don’t think I realized how much subtle flex I was dealing with on my previous lathes but there’s very little movement with this one and it’s wonderful.

I’ll share some of my favorite details on this lathe later but thanks for all those who’ve been following along with this build.

Stay wild and crafty folks-
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02/07/2026

I’m really loving getting in the flow of making these Honey Drizzle Dippers. In a sense they are quite simple, but they also have some lines that when they are just right make the entire thing pop. Not every one quite gets there but I’m honing in on them a bit more with each one.

After a morning of finishing up some bowls and adding a few final details to the lathe build, I split into a chunk of birch and made 8 of these dippers back to back. It was a nice flow state project, I arranged my tools to be within reach and had some nice conversations with my 92 year old grandpa who stopped in to visit as well as a phone call with my folks. Good company and carving makes for a quality time in my books.
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02/06/2026

Some folks clean up their shavings everyday, others weekly, and some just let them pile up and do an annual archaeological dig cleaning to find the pencils they’ve dropped over the year.

I generally will sweep up the shavings into a pile around my chopping block at the end of each day. Every two weeks or so I’ll open the double doors, back the bed of the pickup truck into the doorway and use a shovel to clean out the chips.

I’d love to sweep out my chips more frequently but a variety of factors make this system work for me at this time. I don’t have a place to put the wood chips on the property so I remove them by truck. Doing this more frequently than I need to doesn’t make sense. I also have a concrete floor and direct access to the truck-bed via double doors. Shoveling large amounts of chips is relatively easy, but if I had a wooden floor, or a shop tucked away from the road it wouldn’t work nearly as well.

I share all this to show that everyone’s systems are different and hopefully intentional. It’s ok to take advantage of your current resources and it’s ok to change your systems as your situation changes. In fact I think it’s this kind of intention that really makes a system feel smooth and like it really works for you.

Perhaps you have a similar examples of systems that just seem to work well, or maybe you’re still finding them and that’s ok too.
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02/06/2026

I only had about an hour in the shop this morning before heading off to celebrate the end of my wife’s school semester, but I did manage to sneak in a bit of carving exploration. I’ve been wanting to develop a honey dipper form for a while, and I’m not quite dialed in on the final form yet but just making these few as experimental ones has really helped me chase it. Would you use a wooden honey dipper like this?

I’m also in search of a name for these, something in keeping with the water theme of my other forms. Any suggestions?

Once I’ve got these dialed in and a good system to make them sorted out I’ll be taking orders for these so stay tuned!
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Los Angeles, CA
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