About Tom Forrester

We have been very fortunate to find a talented woodworker right in our own back yard. Tom Forrester is producing all of the following products exclusively for Gemini Fibres. They are exceptional quality in both the materials and the workmanship. Tom's love of the craft shows through in the end product. All tools are unique, hand-turned, no two alike, using domestic and exotic woods. Imported woods are purchased from suppliers who deal only with wood sources that are environmentally certified and well managed sustainable forest wood producers.

Tom is a fulltime artist and craftsperson. He had his first wood lathe when he was 8 years old and has been woodturning for nearly 50 years. For the past several years Tom has designed and made a limited number of unique spindles. His spindle designs emerge at the lathe from artistic motivations governed only by the technical parameters of the spinner's tool. Tom creates one-of-a-kind spindles, each one slightly different. Consequently, at his Woodshaper studio, there are no "production spindles" and no "production runs". Tom's craftworks have won him many design awards and have been featured on national television. Forrester art spindles are in high demand and are collected by spinners worldwide. In addition to making specialty tools for spinners and weavers, Tom is a sculptor. His sculptural pieces regularly appear in major Toronto art galleries and at juried shows. Tom's personal concerns for the rainforest environment lead him to use only high quality domestic hardwoods. These are obtained from responsible local wood supplier whose wood harvestings, milling and drying techniques he respects