David Keys Sustainable Woodworking

20/10/2026

The dustpan is the least used tool in my workshop. I don't tidy up much. That became evident today when I unearthed a notebook. It was a real blast from the past. There is a list of tools and materials needed for the first series of workshops that I ran, way back in 2018!
We worked in a yurt in Garvagh forest in the middle of January and it was freezing. It took about two hours to set up and take down the yurt each week, and we were massively ambitious making a different project each week in just a couple of hours.
But we kept warm enough by working hard, and everyone created fantastic pieces. I'm still in touch with several of the folks who attended. It was so much fun.
This was the spark that led to working all over the country with dozens of wonderful groups of people over the years. I can't thank Karin Eyben and Claire Millar enough for seeing my potential and giving me a good shove down this road.

16/10/2026

I've been working with Ballycastle Men's Shed for the last few weeks up at The Courthouse Shared Space Creative Hub . Together we designed and created a seriously brilliant sign for the shed. Have to say, I absolutely love it. I'm not sure what my favourite thing is about it, the flowers, the oversized tool tote, the tusked tenon detail on the handle, everything is impressive. There was a lot of work involved, but these guys really rolled their sleeves up and got stuck in. It really was a pleasure working with them.
Huge thanks to the good folks at The Courthouse for hosting and helping to make it happen.

16/10/2026

06/10/2026

We had great fun doing a workshop on jewellery made from reclaimed wood at MHS Heritage & Culture Ltd. last weekend. It's actually surprising how much you learn making a relatively small item. Tool wise, we explored how to use a coping saw and how much a bench pin helps with control. We drilled holes with old 'egg-beater' style drills, and learned about why you need to plan where to drill to avoid splitting the wood. It's also a great opportunity to discover different wood species, their qualities, and how easy it is to recycle wood and give waste materials a new life. I also love how everyone gets a chance to use their imagination and creativity with their designs. Everyone did so well.
Thanks to for making it possible.

25/09/2026

Belfast Community Plant Library. We had such a ball at the launch event at Bankmore Square for Culture Night Belfast. It was so wonderful to meet up with Jilly Dougan Kevin from One Bite Design Studio Rachel Cowie beth__schmidt Belfast Design Week and Blick Studios legends Karishma and Christine and everyone who came along.
There was great music, fire twirling type people, artists, plant experts, origami, a sustainable design workshop, plant story gathering, mapping advice, and the best samosas I've ever had.
Huge thanks and well done to everyone who helped to make it such a memorable journey. Some great connections were made.

Pictures thanks to

25/09/2026

Belfast Community Plant Library. Another design, 'Window Boxes'. These are proper window boxes, as they're made from actual window frames. As I mentioned before, this design came about by having a play around with the materials and identifying what attributes they had. The frames are super strong, durable, and they create a stable A-frame when connected at the top. A planter can then be suspended just like a swing boat at a fairground.
They can also be disassembled easily for transport by just unhooking the rope, which can then carry the box, and the A-frame folds up. So if it was displayed at the front of a shop or café, it could be taken indoors at night.
The insanely talented Ana from Ana Chirinciuc | Surface Designer & UGC Creator
helped me out by hand painting amazing botanical details on the boxes. A very time consuming process as I asked her to use natural linseed oil paint which takes several days to dry. It definitely adds a wow factor, they are beautiful.

Pictures thanks to

24/09/2026

Belfast Community Plant Library. What I love about a project like this is that you can really flex your imagination and go full bore quirky.
The 'Pet Planter' is made from two window frames, some pallet wood, castor wheels and a dog lead from Vinted, and the fixing is a fork from a charity shop and an old curtain ring. It was originally just a box, but when I saw the castor wheels in the workshop, I thought it would be really fun if you could take your plant for a walk in the city. The best way to make sure you're always close to nature! 😁
The 'Wonky Leg Planter' definitely has an unconventional look. Again, the design was very much led by what materials I had in the workshop. The legs are from an ash tree literally beside the workshop, and were carved the old fashioned way using a drawknife and shavehorse. The body is made from wind felled cedar and pallet wood. It looks like a newborn calf on ice, but it is much more stable than it looks.

23/09/2026

Belfast Community Plant Library. I decided that this was one of those projects that would be enriched by having a wider range of skills, so I asked a couple of friends from the Hare’s Corner Cooperative , Ana Chirinciuc | Surface Designer & UGC Creator , and Green Re: Make if they would help with making the range of planters.
Nonglak from Green Re:Make created these beautiful hanging planters for the 'Tin Tree'. I think they used to have beans in them, now they have plants. I love them!

Pictures thanks to

23/09/2026

Designing with reclaimed materials is quite different. It involves time, imagination, a lot of preparation, and a good dose of hoarding. You don't start with an idea, and then go and buy whatever materials you'll need. You start with materials, and things go from there.
I recently worked on a project for Belfast Design Week designing and making planters for Belfast Community Plant Library (more on that to follow), and while the first meeting about the project was only a couple of months ago, the work on gathering and preparing the materials started years ago.
I had a chance meeting with a guy who was renovating a house in Kilrea a couple of years ago who gave me a load of fantastic mahogany window frames. I hadn't a clue at the time what I'd use them for, but I knew that they were worth saving from the fire.
My brother in law gave me a bit of what I think was a willow tree that had been topped from a hedge. Again, I didn't have a plan, but I thought some kind of display might work, so I trussed the sprawling branches with rope, and over time, as the branches dried, they held a more upright shape.
Then the hoarding bit happens..........⏳️
Then a job comes in and I have a wander around the workshop, looking for inspiration from the stored materials. The trick with designing with reclaimed materials is to identify the strengths or positive features of what you have, and imagining how they can be used in your design. For example, in this case, I looked at how the window frames already have a really good structure which is very strong, and I asked myself if they could be used without any major alterations? Being window frames, they are also made from extremely durable mahogany, which would lend itself perfectly for an outdoor project.
Then comes the sketch pad and scale models.

15/09/2026

Wheelchair accessible shavehorse (s) That's six now ready for work.
I'm so happy with how this project has evolved. The input from the Causeway Giants WBC was so valuable and really helped to steer the design in the right direction. It was brilliant finding inspiration from nature and exploring how fish can grip prey so efficiently with rows of flexible teeth. (Big thanks to Hare’s Corner Cooperative for introducing me to biomimicry). And it has been really great to design something completely new that will allow people to have a go at traditional woodworking who would normally have been ruled out.