Welcome to The Norsk Woodshop. My name is Patrick Sikes and I am a wood turner and penmaker. I work out of my studio in St Petersburg FL creating handcrafted pens from exotic wood and colorful acrylics.

I grew up around woodworking with my father and grandfather perpetually building some piece of furniture.  I even remember stories of my grandfather building desks too large to move out of his basement shop and boiling wood to build his own water skis on the kitchen stove.

I have been a chip carver since 2003 and even have completed all three levels of chip carving for the Sons of Norway cultural skills program.  I started wood turning in 2008 and just love the fast action and mostly instant gratification of it.

Interview from Nicole @ Ambient Girl Designs

1. Where are you from?

I grew up in Ventura, CA but lived in Fort Collins, CO for so long that really feels like home. I sure miss it!

2. When did you start to craft?

I have been “crafting” as long as I can remember. When I was a kid it was Popsicle stick castles and cardboard box forts. A few years back it was chocolates and now I work in wood. I have been chip carving for several years but just picked up wood turning and penmaking in 2008.

3. How did you hear about Etsy and when did you join?

I don’t remember who told me about Etsy. It was one of those random things. I created The Norsk Woodshop last year in February. I really can’t believe that my shop has been up for almost a year!

4. What kind of market is your work geared towards?

Everyone needs a pen but I really tend to market toward guys, or more specifically gifts for guys. Besides Etsy, I have tried shops on ArtFire and 1000 Markets but Etsy seems have such a huge (and great) list of customers so I think it is time to focus my efforts a bit.

5. What types of crafts/artwork do you do?

Handcrafted pens made of exotic woods from all over the world and colorful acrylics. I love my pens! I pretty much carry a different pen with me every day and have sold the one out of my pocket on a couple of occasions.

I turn other functional and artistic items including bowls, vases, and boxes. Most of my bowls are turned with “found wood” including wood found on the side of the road or at our local tree trimming recycling area.

6. What kinds of materials do you like to work with?

I use a lot of wood including found wood and pen blanked sourced from around the world (mostly from Ebay). Some of my favorite species are olive wood (most of which comes from Bethlehem), koa, camphor, and box elder.

I also turn a lot of pens out of acrylic pen blanks. These are pre-cast blanks that have awesome colors and when finished have a wonderful feel and are very iridescent in the sunlight.

7. What are your inspirations?

I try to let the wood talk to me. When I mount a piece of wood on the lathe and start to remove the wood and make it round you can start to see what it wants to look like. I use the grain patterns and flaws in the wood dictate where the next cut should be to make a great bowl or vase. As for my pens, they are a bit simpler…it is just matching up the right kit with the right blank and turning a great shape. I try to stick with smooth transitions and soft finishes.