Health, wellbeing and volunteering opportunities
At Naturally Useful we love to share our passion for crafting, nature and gardening with others. There is growing evidence that creative activity and spending time in nature supports positive mental and physical wellbeing, reducing anxiety and stress. Working with willow, learning about felting or ecodying, spending time planting or growing can all contribute to nurturing good health and wellbeing. There are lots of ways you can get involved with us to nurture your wellbeing - from attending one of our many courses to volunteering on the field. Providing opportunities to reduce social isolation, increase self-confidence and give everyone an opportunity to have some fun are a key part of NU being a socially responsible organisation. With this in mind, a new community project bringing people together on the willow field and holding groups for adults with additional support needs is currently underway. Click the button below to find out more about our new venture and how you can get involved.
Our Ethos and why we make
Our Ethos
‘I believe that the good medicine of making is the birth right of us all. As my hands get older,I get great joy from passing these ways onto new hands.’ Karen Collins
Making with natural materials can be profoundly transformative. Head, hands and heart are brought together in a particular relationship through the act of making, a grounding activity that can put us in the present and engender a sense of peace and tranquility. The act of making allows us expression of what is inside. There is a deep satisfaction to be found in making something beautiful and strong with your own hands, that can be used every day. When we make we are engaged and can gain a sense of resilience and empowerment. We have a duty of care to the plants and animals that provide our materials. Connecting to the place they come from inspires our creativity and the desire to make. We believe that the act of making should be accessible to as many people as want to. Being engaged in tactile, purposeful, creative activity is proven to benefit mental health and well being.
Environmental responsibility
Naturally Useful is a small Scottish rural business. We play a part in nurturing local cultural and economic regeneration, working with other small businesses and organisations in the area. At Naturally Useful we are aware of our responsibility as guardians of our Earth and the environment we exist in. We are conscious of and actively tend to the ecosystem we are part of, from how we heat the workshop to how we tend to our waste. Our materials literally grow outside the barn door and things we have to buy in are sourced from UK suppliers. The most direct way we know to honour the natural materials we work with is by making something useful, beautiful, fit for purpose and of the highest quality.
Community Inclusion
Naturally Useful is a social enterprise, a Community Interest Company that serves and supports local individuals and groups in employment, skills training and personal empowerment through the process of making. Our focus will always be on teaching and selling locally. We love the diversity of the people that we work with and enjoy sharing our skills with anyone who wants to learn.
Passing it forward
Naturally useful are proud to be part of the resurgence in appreciation of traditional hand made skills. We are taking the threads of old skills and weaving them into something new but the old ways are nothing without new hands to weave them. We offer as many different opportunities to learn as we can, from one to one tutorials, tailor made courses, bespoke training, regular open days and making experiences at craft markets.
Meet the makers
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Karen Collins
FOUNDER AND MAKER
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Amy Neville
MAKER AND TUTOR
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Hannah Taylor
MAKER
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Katie Lyons
MAKER
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![how to make a willow garden obelix]()
Jodie Lefley
MAKER
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Manja
MAKER
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![making willow coffin]()
Helena
MAKER
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![Forge work tutor]()
John Curtis
TUTOR
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![how to carve a spoon]()
Udo Reiss
TUTOR
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![Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator]()
Emily Rizza
Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator
Our patch
Visit Naturally Useful
You are welcome to pop down to the Pole Barn, to buy products, discuss commissions, have a chat about the courses we offer or just see what we are up to. Thursday is our nominated open day each week. Please contact us via phone or email to discuss your visit and requirements.
Naturally Usefuls workshop is located in the Pole Barn. This structure was raised in 2005 built with trees from the woodland that surrounds Marcassie Farm. It was originally intended for hay storage and farm machinery so it was open to the elements when Karen began work in 2005.
Now the summer sun streams in through the south facing windows and in the winter it is warmed by the Dragoness, a vast wood burning stove.
Work also takes place in the courtyard, which is a sun trap and provides a view through the veg garden to the fields beyond. A place of shelter and tranquility where nesting swallows provide aerial entertainment.
Accessibility
Naturally Useful aims to be as inclusive as possible and we have a wealth of experience in supporting peoples needs. The nature and situation of the building means that access is via a dirt track which a good wheelchair could mange. If necessary it is possible to drive right up to the door of the barn. There is a wooden floor inside the barn. A single composting toilet is adjacent to the barn accessed by steps.
Please do contact us to discuss accessibility and support requirements if you have any questions prior to visiting.
Marcassie and Moray
Marcassie Farm is a family owned organic small holding nestled in the fertile plains of the Laich of Moray, in the north east Scotland. The farm consists of 18 acres of arable land,12 acres of mature woodland and 5 acres of grounds and garden around the farm house and steading.
The fields are surrounded by hedgerows heavy with hazel, sloes blackcurrants, wild rose and hawthorn. This encourages wild life and biodiversity and provides material that we weave into the willow products.
Visiting Moray
If you are visiting for a course you may want to spend some time in the surrounding area. Moray is on the narrowest part of Scotland so it is easy to travel from the east to the west coast.
There is something for everyone from mountains, woodland and moorland to rivers ,estuaries and the sea.
Activities such as bird watching and guided walks are readily available as well as cycle routes and mountain bike trails.
The Findhorn foundation ,an internationally renowned eco-village is located between Kinloss and the old fishing village of Findhorn and is an example of communal and eco-living.
“A beautiful and well-made basket which was a perfect anniversary present for my wife. We love the natural branch handle!” 5 out of 5 stars said Joel on 27 Aug, 2021