One pair of hands, one workshop
Turps Wood Design is James Turpin — and every piece that leaves the workshop in Lostwithiel is made by him, by hand.
James Turpin
"I build every piece myself. When you commission something, you're dealing with the person making it — start to finish."
It began in 2020. Stuck at home like everyone else, I made a table for our own garden. Friends and neighbours asked who'd built it — and one table became a few, and Turps Wood Design grew from there.
I come from a product-design background, with a family line of woodworkers behind me. That mix is the whole thing really: the discipline of designing something properly, and the love of making it by hand.
The way I work
Made by hand, by me
No production line and no middlemen. You deal with the maker, and the person who quotes your job is the person who builds it.
Honest timber, honest prices
Heavy-duty tanalised timber and solid joinery, quoted straight. I'll tell you what's worth doing and what isn't.
Built to be handed on
I'd rather make one thing that lasts decades than ten that don't. Look after it and it'll outlast all of us.
Why tanalised timber
Everything I build starts with heavy-duty tanalised timber — pressure-treated so the protection runs right through, not just across the surface. It's what lets a piece live outside through Cornish winters and come back every spring.
It's not the cheapest way to build. It's the way that lasts.
How it works
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Step 1: Tell me your idea
A conversation, not a form. Tell me what you're picturing.
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Step 2: I design and quote
A sketch or spec and an honest price. No obligation.
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Step 3: Handbuilt by me
Made by hand in Lostwithiel.
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Step 4: Delivered and set up
Brought to you across Cornwall, installed in place.
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Step 5: Yours for decades
And I'll tell you how to keep it at its best.
From the workshop
Tell me what you're picturing
I come back to you personally, usually the same day, with honest advice and a price.