Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman, is the debut book from writer and woodworker Callum Robinson

The eldest son of a Master Woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father’s workshop, playing amongst the sycamore, oak and Scots pine that bordered his home. In time he became his father’s apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects, to business meetings, bright lights and bureaucracy, to lose touch with his roots. Until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down. Faced with the end of his business, his team and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most.

In beautifully wrought prose, Callum tells the story of returning to the workshop, and to the wood; to handcrafting furniture for people who will love it, and then pass it on to the next generation – antidotes to a culture where everything seems so easily disposable. As he does so, he brings us closer to nature, and to the physical act of creation. Close enough to smell the sawdust, to see the wood’s grain and character and to feel the magic of furniture coming to life. At the same time, we begin to understand how he has been shaped, as both a craftsman and a son.

Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on community, consumerism, and the beauty of the natural world – one that asks us to see our local trees, and our own wooden objects, in a new and revelatory light.

Ingrained is out now in hardback in the UK viaTransworld/Doubleday, and will be published in the U.S.A & Canada by Ecco/HarperCollins on December 3rd 2024

Reviews

‘This magnificent debut isn't just an ode to the craft of furniture making, but the art of writing. Robinson's chiselled, elegant prose is the sound of a bright new voice in non-fiction. His memoir brings to life the heartwood in trees, families, and a young man making his way in the world with an inspiring integrity. This is essential reading for any artist who might be losing their way.’

—Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia

‘A delightful book about the art of craft; a hard-carved woodworking romance written with tenderness and an almost sensual attention to detail. I can smell the resin and the soft, fresh sawdust. I can feel the bite of dense grain beneath the blade. Quite magical.’

—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment

‘I didn’t think it possible to blend the tones and sensibilities of James Herriott and Anthony Bourdain, but Callum Robinson has managed to do it - in wood! This wise and wonderful book takes the lucky reader as deeply into the grain of Britain’s primal medium as it does into the psyche of one its most gifted practitioners. Trees, chairs, and woodworkers alike will resonate differently once you’ve become Ingrained.’

—John Vaillant, author of Baillie Gifford Prize winning, and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Fire Weather

‘Honest, original and true – written like a good novel, with that very rare merit of exploring the doubt and criticism necessary for any great art or craft, be it writing or carpentry.’

—Lars Mytting, author of Norwegian Wood and The Sister Bells Trilogy

‘A beautifully cut and crafted masterpiece inlaid with insight and polished with the pure joy of nature.’

—Chris Packham, author of Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir

‘A gorgeous, heartfelt book, shot through with the wisdom and grace of the trees that illuminate its pages. In the age of rampant consumerism, it is salutary to be reminded that there are still craftspeople like Callum Robinson, pouring love into his creations. Like his tables, chairs, cabinets and sculptures, Ingrained is a work of wonder and beauty.’

—Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell

‘‘A profound and intimate memoir written in stylish prose that grows on you like the smell of freshly sawn timber. Instantly, it deserves a place among woodworking classics like The Village Carpenter, The Wheelwright’s Shop and Woodland Crafts in Britain.'

Robert Penn, author of The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees.

‘Deliciously indulgent and a work of pure craft poetry.’

—Rebecca Struthers, author of Hands of Time

‘A forest gateau of a book brimming with ravishing sentences. Ingrained is a story of setbacks, dedication to perfection, and tenacity, that is full of heart and lovingly told.’

—Keggie Carew, author of Dadlands and Beastly

‘An inspirational story about the meaning of work and making. It is a book that will change careers and lives.’

—Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree

‘Original. Rare. As beautiful as trees... A masterpiece.’

—John Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland, The Running Hare and The Wood

‘I love everything about this book! The prose is stunning, the imagery glorious, and Callum’s love for his craft is both palpable and infectious. He has a way with words that breathes life, colour, and personality into the timbers he works with, making them as integral to the story as the people he works with. Ingrained is a treat for all the senses, and I will never look at a piece of wood, or furniture, in the same way again.’

—Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees

‘Meditative and unhurried, Callum Robinson's debut finds the intersecting point between creativity, livelihood and relationships; each rendered precarious as a creative soul lets go of their safety measures and just...goes for it. This book made me think about the vital importance of craft in our world, and about the consumer choices we make between the hand-made and the mass-produced. And it made me think about timber: how it frames our lives, from the comforting trees in a forest to the fragrant lumber that awaits the shaping hand, to the object of beauty that will last lifetimes. While Robinson has written about timber with deep knowledge and affection, he has really told us a story about people and love and work, and it's that story that emerges from the grain under his patient hands.’

—Jock Serong, author of Quota, Preservation and On The Java Ridge

‘I read Ingrained with absolute pleasure. Not a word that was not vital in expressing Callum's deep reverence for his craft; his illustrations of wood so touchingly detailed that I found myself studying my own table, disappointed that it was not a Speyside Malt, Nordic Ice Blonde or Fretful Crimson Cherry, that there were no swirling grains. Callum's writing has the faultless rhythm a Huck Finn float down the Mississippi, reaching its destination far too soon.’

—Wayne McLennan, author of Rowing to Alaska

‘As charming and well-crafted as hand-made furniture, Ingrained is a delight to read – a book overflowing with sawdust and soul.’

—Mallachy Tallack, author of Illuminated by Water

‘Wonderful things can happen when you put faith in the journey and submit to the mysterious flow of life's grain. A hugely inspiring and reassuring book - Callum is clearly a master with both chisel and pen.’

James Aldred, Wainwright Prize winning author of Goshawk Summer

‘An astonishing, beautifully crafted debut and a joyful lesson in the artistry of memoir writing.’

—Joe Gibson, author of Seventeen

‘Gorgeous, elegant, wise, cross-grained. I wish I'd written it myself.’

—Bella Bathurst, furniture maker and author of The Lighthouse Stevensons and Field Work