In 2005, retired police officer Tim Burgess launched a new career – and ended up taking most of his family with him. Recently, Forestry Journal caught up with Tim and his brother Andy to hear about their carving journey.
THE Burgess name is well known in carving circles. Tim, his sons Mike and Jonathan, and brother Andy all have successful carving businesses and have competed in competitions across the country. Tim, who spent 30 years working for Lancashire Constabulary and Greater Manchester Police, started carving in retirement and, over the years, the rest of the family have followed his path. Each has come from a different background, but cites him as the person who convinced them to do it.
Tim announced his retirement from competition carving at the last Garnock Valley Carves and Forestry Journal took the opportunity to catch up with him and the rest of the family to find out more about their passion. In this feature, we’ll focus on Tim and Andy. Tim has been sculpting wood since he was a young boy, while Andy admits to loving being ‘hands on’ and making things.
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Tim recalled one of his early wood designs, a sledge. “It was made out of beech for the runners and Pirana pine for the top. I still have it and it goes like the wind.”
In his late 20s, he started carving rocking horses, following the designs of Anthony Dew from his book Making Rocking Horses. Meanwhile, Andy was designing his own football shin pads, aged 11, and laying his bedroom carpet aged 12. Housing renovations followed, offering another chance to use his skills.
Both Tim and Andy served in the police force, though Andy’s stint was only six years, before he set himself up in business renovating houses. Tim’s career saw him in operational, undercover and leadership roles before reaching the rank of chief superintendent and finally director of learning and development, then retirement. It was in 2005 that his carving career started in earnest and a new career path opened up for him at 49 years of age.
“With woodworking always being of interest to me, once I heard about chainsaw carving I decided I wanted to have a go,” he said. “My initial carvings were made from a couple of trees that had come down in my garden. It was a visit to the second English Open International Chainsaw Carving event that made my mind up this was something that I wanted to do.”
Tim recognised the use of chainsaws can be dangerous if not handled safely and so he enrolled on a formal course. The rest of the family, as they came into carving, followed suit and none of them have had any accidents to date.
From the outset, Tim was keen to promote safety and the use of the appropriate equipment and clothing, with good protective trousers, gloves and boots being an absolute requirement in his mind. This extends to ear defenders and face masks. Ear defenders to protect against noise, but also to be able to listen to the radio. The wearing of a face mask protects the nose and lungs against small fibres of wood.
Getting established involved carving and selling pieces, which then led to more commissions. This allowed Tim to build up a portfolio of work which he has promoted on his website, allowing clients to get ideas or purchase finished pieces. Over the years, he has developed a liking for carving bears, while clients continually ask him to tackle birds of prey and owls. The owls requested are mainly Tawny, but range from life-sized to 10-ft tall.
Andy, meanwhile, with an eye on what his brother was doing and seeing his enjoyment and success, began to think chainsaw carving was the next logical step for him. “Tim kept saying to try it and so, with some initial input from him and training days, I set up my own business in 2009. I knew that ultimately I had to go myself, learning and adjusting my style.
“Getting established in the early days, I did shows, put in a lot of hard work, handed out a lot of business cards and leaflets. As I sold pieces and my reputation built, word of mouth helped to bring in more clients and commissions. I set my sights early on the Royal Horticulture Shows (RHS), thinking I wanted to produce quality not quantity. I did not just want to bang things out at £100 apiece. I am proud of the fact I have been an RHS exhibitor for 12 years now.”
In fact, Andy was the first chainsaw wood sculptor to exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013, its centenary year. A bonus from being there, from Andy’s point of view, was an appearance on The Alan Titchmarsh Show, which ultimately led to a commission from Dame Judi Dench. She had been watching the show and contacted Andy to get him to carve a red squirrel. Andy also carved a number of pieces for restaurateur Nisha Katona at her home on the Wirral, after Storm Arwen hit last year (a huge, seven-foot buzzard, 30 ft up in the air, being one).
“I have been fortunate to have had some brilliant television appearances over the years,” said Andy. “Alan Titchmarsh got me onto his Love Your Weekend show, where I had a 10-minute slot carving live. I have appeared on DIY SOS, brought in by Chris Beardshaw and Nick Knowles. Then I was invited onto Home Is Where the Art Is with Nick Knowles. In July 2022, I was on Summer on the Farm with Helen Skelton. Another 10-minute slot, which is fabulous marketing.
“All these appearances really help my work and people see that I am a safe pair of hands. The added kudos of the links with people like RHS and Titchmarsh assist because they are at the forefront of my demographic of customers. Meeting Dame Judi Dench and delivering to her house was incredible. An hour in her kitchen drinking tea will never be forgotten. I have had lots of famous customers over the years – most of whom I can’t even mention.”
Andy and Tim joined forces in 2012 to create a throne, which was used as the centrepiece of the Jubilee Garden in Manchester city centre. They carved it from an old beech tree that had to be taken down, over a six-week period. Manchester City Council asked for the council’s emblem to be included, so a beehive was carved on the side with three bees coming out of it. The carving also contained a nest of owls, a doorway, and frog peeping out of a hole.
It was a proud moment, both to be working together, but also to be doing such a prestigious project, which Andy remembers well. He said: “We were both invited to lunch in the Town Hall and were presented to Her Majesty and Prince Philip. We then chatted outside and were shown on the telly. It was an incredible day.”
For Tim, meeting HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh led to a brief conversation about a carving event in which he had competed at the Royal Sandringham Estate, with the Duke replying: “Yes, I remember you left a lot of offcuts for our fire!”
The brothers continued working together at the same base. Tim said: “I went to a friendly farmer and Andy and my son Mike joined in, all working in the same barn. Sadly, we had to leave as the farmer changed it into a fantastic wedding venue for his two daughters to manage. So Andy moved to his home and so did I. Mike rented accommodation at the farm and the farmer made space for him away from the barn.”
Andy’s clients come from a variety of places. Like Tim, he has a website but feels social media is better for him. Tim and Andy also gain work through appearances at events, being on the TV and from being in the newspapers. Tim has carried out a lot of work for schools in the north-west of England and for a number of local authorities in their parks and public places.
He said: “Wise owls are very popular for schools, especially eagle owls. I have a poem, given to me by my grandparents, hanging up in my garage. I recite this to pupils when I meet them. ‘The wise young owl, sculpted from oak; the more he saw, the less he spoke; the less he spoke, the more he heard; we should all be like; that wise young bird’.”
Andy, meanwhile, has carried out carving commissions for the National Trust, RHS and Taylor Wimpey. He has also produced carvings for various care homes across the UK and 70 commissions for the Nando’s restaurant chain.
“I was put forward to work with the architect and interior designers on the idea for three huge vertical trunks to go in a new restaurant in Manchester,” he said. “The job went like a dream and they loved what I produced. This led to more commissions and a fantastic relationship developing.”
The tools of the trade are important for any craftsman. Tim generally uses Stihl, Makita and Husqvarna chainsaws, with Stihl and Cannon carving bars.
He said: “Achieving a better-looking final piece is only possible with the use of a ‘carving bar’, which does not have a sprocket at the end. Stihl supplies 12–13-inch carving bars and Cannon provides an assortment of lengths and styles with a ‘Dime Tip’. For me, Cannon carving bars are the best, without question. The saws I prefer are Makita for all lengths of bars, from eight-inch to 20-inch long. For blocking out and getting rid of the large pieces of wood I do not want, I use very large saws such as a Stihl with a 30-inch bar.
“For power tools such as disc sanders, files and eye tools, I use Makita, which are excellent and very hard wearing. The eye tools, which fit on a normal drill, are supplied by arbtalk.co.uk. They are usually used for creating eyes in different sizes, but they can also be used for creating a feather effect on birds or scales on fish. The disc and file or pencil sanders are just used to add a bit of finer detail in appropriate places like fingers, faces and other body parts of animals, birds and humans which are softer and where a smoother finished is preferred.”
Andy only uses five saws, because, he says: “It’s all I need.” He uses Stihl and Echo brands, while for power tools it is Makita and Black and Decker. “In my opinion, these brands are bombproof. I need professional grade as I use them every day.”
Participation in competitions and shows has been part of the carving journey both have been on since they started, and though Tim has now declared himself officially retired from such events he has been involved in many over the years.
“I have taken part in Woodfest Wales, the English Open International Chainsaw Carving Competition, the Australian Chainsaw Carving Competition in Melbourne – where I came third – as well as the Husky Cup in Germany, Ridgeway Rendezvous, in Pennsylvania, USA, Carve Carrbridge – where I was runner-up in 2017 – and Garnock Valley Carves, in Scotland. It was at Garnock Valley Carves where I recently achieved the highest auction prize for my carving.”
Andy competes less and does not work weekends because he has a wife and a young family, so he packs a lot into the working week. “I have competed at the English Open several times and the Husky Cup in Germany once; also the European Championships, coming third in 2010. I took part in England vs Germany in the UK, carving a large woodland seat, and came joint first in 2010. I have also visited Carve Carrbridge on one occasion.”
Asked about particular carves that are special to them, Tim referred to an eight-foot-tall knight outside Peckforton Castle in Cheshire. He said: “It has a helmet with just a slit for the eyes and it really does feel when you look at it that a person is inside, closely watching those nearby.”
Next is a 14-ft-tall carving of King Canute that he made at a house in Cheshire, appearing to greet drivers on the road into Knutsford.
A seven-ft-tall wizard with baby dragons at its feet is another favourite. “It’s now in a theme park in Wales and is much loved, especially with the youngsters.”
Two others that he recalls are ‘Lord Baden Powell’, sculpted for a Scout camp in the north of England, and a gamekeeper and his dog, sculpted from oak for an estate in Norfolk.
“The reason I particularly like these is they are sculpted from oak, very large and each subject is either looking at the viewer or something else in the distance beyond the viewer. There are also many owls, eagles and various animals dotted around the UK, and locations such as Chester Zoo and Tatton Park in Cheshire, which I have sculpted and love.”
Andy’s selection was his Mobberley WW1 soldier. He said: “It gets such incredible feedback whenever I speak to people.” Then there is a 10-ft severed arm made out of oak. “I was inspired to carve this by the Killers’ Sawdust album cover.” Andy also likes carving dog benches and is especially fond of one he carved in Didsbury. “It depicts three dogs and was all carved from one log.”
A memorial bench in Knutsford holds a lot of significance for Andy, as he knew the young lad who tragically died.
His final selection was of a large swooping owl. “It is just such a difficult pose to make and attach to a trunk. The client wanted a real wow-factor piece and he was blown away with the end result.”
Tim and Andy are both very talented and clearly supportive of one another. They were both quick to point out there is no rivalry between them. If anything, they have learned from each other over the years. Andy got into carving because Tim suggested he try it.
Both have gained much enjoyment from working with wood and carving something unique and creative from it.
Andy said: “I love being my own boss, creating new ideas and the freedom carving offers. It also has an excellent earning potential. I do not employ anyone and I am VAT registered. There are no downsides from my point of view. I love it.”
Tim agreed: “I like to create something out of a stump that might have been a much-loved tree or a good-quality log that would otherwise be left to rot or eventually be burned on a fire. And people pay me for my skills!”
What of the future then? Andy said: “I want to work less, produce really good-quality sculptures that enable me to charge more, and go back to RHS Chelsea again. I want to enjoy a fantastic work–life balance.”
And for Tim? “I am now 66 years old and I have decided it is time to go back to making rocking horses and sledges!”
www.andy-burgess.com
www.thetimburgess.com
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