Mike Bentley is a traditionally trained wood turner with over forty years experience, Mike first took up turning as a teenager to meet his mother’s demand for lace bobbins. Initially these were produced using a lathe attachment for a Black and Decker drill!  Mike estimates that he has now made in excess of twenty thousand bobbins for customers across 4 continents.

In time Mike’s expertise expanded and with another turner became known for exhibitions, craft fairs and turning demonstrations throughout Yorkshire. Both were founder members of the West Riding Woodturners’ Association.

A growing family and paid employment required turning to take a back seat. Now retired, he is able once again to focus on wood turning; undertaking commissions, exhibiting in galleries across Yorkshire and participating in various one-off events and exhibitions. He donates the proceeds from his work to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Mike particularly likes working with British native timbers, hand working each piece of this natural material to reveal the beauty within the wood and letting its shape and form suggest the design of the finished piece. Mike predominantly uses either reclaimed or locally sourced timber and his pieces are hand finished using natural waxes or oils.