About

About Mr Idea's DIY

Handmade wooden pieces from a one-man workshop in Manchester — made with care, built to be used every day.

The Story Behind the Craft

Welcome to Mr Idea's DIY, where every piece of wood has the potential to become something extraordinary. Based in Manchester, I make wooden pieces for the home by hand, one at a time.

My journey into woodworking began with a simple belief: that handmade pieces carry a soul that mass-produced items simply cannot match. Every project starts as a drawing on paper, worked out properly, before any timber gets cut.

What comes out of the workshop is a mix of things — wall clocks, kitchen accessories and pieces for around the home. Different objects, same approach: made slowly, finished by hand, and checked over before it goes anywhere.

Drilling a workpiece at the pillar drill in my Manchester workshop, wearing ear defenders and safety glasses

What I Care About

🌱

Sustainability

I source timber responsibly and reuse off-cuts instead of throwing them out. Small pieces of wood often become candle holders.

🎯

Precision

Every cut, joint and finish gets proper attention. I check measurements twice before drilling anything, because there's no undo button on timber.

💡

Ideas First

The clue is in the name. Each piece starts with a problem worth solving or a design worth trying, not with a template.

🪵

One at a Time

Nothing here comes off a production line. Every piece is made individually, so the grain and the character are never quite the same twice.

Chiselling a joint by hand during my Level 1 carpentry course

Philosophy

I believe in sustainable craftsmanship and use quality materials that last. Each piece is meant to be picked up, used and lived with — not admired from a distance.

Learning the Trade

I started properly with a Level 1 carpentry course, learning to measure, cut and joint by hand before moving on to machines. That grounding still shapes how I work — the drawing comes first, the measurements get checked twice, and nothing gets rushed because a mistake in timber can't be undone.

Taking It Online

For a long time my work stayed local — pieces made for family, friends, neighbours, and whoever heard about me by word of mouth. There's a lot to like about that, but it only reaches so far. So after plenty of thinking, I decided to take Mr Idea's DIY online. Now the pieces leaving my workshop can find homes well beyond Manchester, and I still get to make every one of them by hand.