Who we are

Don James is an artist, craftsman, and instructor in the art of woodworking and woodturning in and around the Columbia Valley, BC, and Calgary. His creations range from wooden spinning tops, bowls, wooden utensils, decorative wall hangings and magic wands.

Don was born and raised on a dairy farm in Eastern Ontario. His father was a carpenter with a speciality in log building who introduced Don to woodturning when he bought a lathe from the local high school.

After being in Calgary for some time, Don attended the Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society’s early exhibitions. He revisited the lathe and honed his skills to the point where his work was accepted into the exhibitions. As well as the SAWS juried exhibitions, his work was displayed in the Tu Gallery in Edmonton, the former Croft gallery in Calgary and Pynelogs in Invermere.  His work can presently be found at Village Arts in Invermere.

Don's passion for woodturning has encouraged him to constantly search for new techniques and methods of working with wood. He has received instruction from a large, well-rounded network of respected woodturners such as Richard Raffin, Trent Bosch, Donald Derry, Art Liestman, Michael Hosaluk, Doug Fisher, and others. He has provided instruction at Lee Valley Tools and offers private lessons at his shop near Invermere.