27/05/2026
Afternoon All,
It’s been a busy few days at Stave Craft HQ.
We were kindly given a bag of used horseshoes from Tony the Farrier and thus a new range the “Essentially Equestrian Range” of bespoke craft items have been made with a blend of the Oak Whisky Barrels Staves and horseshoe paying homage to the dedication of those that have gone before and the history of times gone bye.
This new range is a collaboration of the skills of:
The Coopers who made the barrels, Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden, staved vessels, held together with wooden or metal hoops and possessing flat ends or heads. Examples of a cooper's work include casks, barrels, buckets, tubs, butter churns, vats, hogsheads, firkins, tierces, rundlets, puncheons, pipes, tuns, butts, troughs, pins and breakers.
A hooper was the man who fitted the wooden or metal hoops around the barrels or buckets that the cooper had made, essentially an assistant to the cooper. The English name Hooper is derived from that profession. Over time, coopers took on the role of the hooper themselves.
The wheelwrights and the Cartwright who made the Dray carts—low, flat-bed horse-drawn wagons primarily used for hauling heavy freight and beer barrels—were historically built by regional wheelwrights and dedicated carriage works rather than a single company. The trade was dominated by custom cartwrights, whose history and evolution are documented across several broader transport entries. The Dray cart is a heavy, low, flat-bed wagon typically pulled by draft horses (like Shires or Clydesdales) to transport massive loads. Historically used for short-distance commercial hauling between docks, rail yards, and warehouses, they are most famously associated with the delivery of beer barrels.
and of course the skill of the Farriers who specialist in farriery: equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves when necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjusting metal shoes) with some veterinarian's skills (knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb) to care for horses' feet. Traditionally an occupation for men, in a number of countries women have now become farriers.
Lastly the skill of myself and my wife Becky who is the visionary force behind Stave Craft.
These will be available to purchase at our next market which is Witton Castle on Sunday 31st May from 1030 am until 3pm.
So come along and say hello on Sunday, a warm welcome awaits you.
Thanks for reading the history behind the new creations.
Mark and Becky
Stave Craft
