Making Resin and Wood Keyrings

People often see the finished keyrings on my stall and assume they come together in a few quick steps. Honestly, there's so much more to it than that, so I thought I'd take you behind the scenes and show you what actually goes into making each one.

It all starts with sycamore wood. I cut and shape it into the little base pieces that will form the heart of each keyring, then pop them into a mould ready for the next stage. From there, I mix up the resin and add pigments to create the colour, which is honestly one of my favourite parts, it's where each design really starts to come to life. Once I'm happy with the colour, I carefully pour the resin into the mould, over and around the wood, and then it's a waiting game. It takes a few days for the resin to fully cure before I can touch it again.

Once it's set, I release the piece from the mould and head into the workshop, where I cut the individual keyrings using the bandsaw. Each one is then sanded and shaped by hand, smoothing out all the edges until they feel just right. I drill a hole for the split ring, and then tape them up ready for the laser.

Next comes the engraving. I pop the keyrings into the laser, select the wording, set it off, and leave it to do its thing while I get on with something else in the workshop.

Once the laser's finished, I give each keyring a good oiling and buff, which really brings out the wood grain and gives them that lovely, finished look. Then finally, on goes the split ring, and the keyring is complete and ready for its new home.

So as you can see, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye! From cutting the wood right through to that final split ring, every single keyring is handmade from start to finish, in the workshop, by me. It's a slow process, but that's exactly why each one feels a little bit special.