MEREDITH — For Christmas 2018, a gift from Andrew Eaton’s wife Katie ignited a new passion that became a career.
The gift was a woodworking lathe, intended to give Eaton a break from his marketing business. He became enamored with it, so when the pandemic took a toll on his work, he decided to refine the craft he’d come to enjoy.
He’s turned wood turning into a business called Art of Turning, and one tenet of his business is giving back to his community. Every month, 30% of all cutting and serving board sales go to local pantries, alternating between Meredith Food Pantry and the Lakes Region Food Pantry.
He will host a woodworking competition at Twin Barns Brewing Company from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, and roughly 20 woodworkers are taking part.
Judges will determine the winners, and all the creations will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to the two food pantries in an even share.
Art of Turning
Eaton grew up in Maine, graduating from high school in 1999.
He worked in the family construction business for a time, then started his own marketing company in Lebanon, selling it in 2021 when COVID affected his bottom line. He then turned to woodworking.
“I’ve always enjoyed making projects from wood,” he said. “I’m a DIY-type person with a construction background. Everything I’ve done around the house — trim work or building a bedroom set — was something I enjoyed. It’s relaxing and enjoyable.”
He opened Art of Turning in 2020, joining the craft fair circuit, and opened his shop on Main Street in October 2024. He chose Meredith because the community resonated well with his artwork.
He commutes an hour each way from Enfield.
Eaton said wood turning involves taking a raw piece of timber and putting it on a lathe, which spins the wood. With knives and gouges, the wood is cut into different shapes as it turns; Eaton makes decorative functional bowls and sculpture.
“It’s almost up to the wood what it wants to be,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t know until you put it on the lathe and start turning it. The wood kind of speaks to you.”
May the best wood win
The woodworking competition has already begun with about 20 woodworkers receiving the same pack of three pieces. They can use only those pieces to create whatever they want in the privacy of their own workshops.
“Nobody knows what they will create,” Eaton said.
On Sept. 12, three judges — Paul Moreau, owner of The Galleries at 30 Main, and Kathryn Rolfe and Brad Leighton, predominant members of the local art community — will evaluate the work.
Spectators at Twin Barns can purchase raffle tickets beginning at 6 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m., all the creations will be raffled off.
Eaton took part in a similar competition last year in Merrimack, and he wanted to recreate it locally.
To learn more, visit artofturning.com/lakes-region-artisans-woodworking-competition.
“I think it will be great. I can see it becoming an annual event,” he said. “It’s a great fundraiser for the community, and we hope we have a lot of people come out so we can raise a lot of money for the food pantry.”