Woodturner Ken Broadland worked as a Conservation Officer on southern Vancouver Island for 29 years before retiring in 2002. He started woodturning as a hobby in 1991 and has been a contributing craftsman at Imagine That! Artisans' Designs (a Duncan, BC, craft co-operative) since 1997. His skills are self-taught and follow from working with wood on a larger scale, having built two log homes including Heartwood House near Duncan, where he and his wife Jan have lived since 1978.

Ken's main goal in turning wood is to present the wood's beauty in a useable form. His specialty is large salad bowls and servers, with a supporting cast of other creations such as cutting boards, kitchen implements, small bowls, coasters, cremation urns, artistic bowls, and whatever else catches his interest and is supported by his customers. Designs are simple and practical. His work sells well because it is attractive, functional and reasonably priced.

His favourite woods to work with are local Bigleaf Maple and Arbutus (Madrone) - maple because of its wide variety of exquisite grains, and arbutus because of its hardness and durability. He also likes to use spalted wood. Spalting is the initial phase of the natural decay process that occurs in some species of tree after they die and the right temperature and moisture conditions exist. Minerals already in the tree combine with moisture to begin the decomposition process. This enhances the colour and often produces fine black lines in the grain. Different species react differently to this phenomenon and the striking results are much prized by woodturners, who try to cut and dry spalted wood while it is still hard and useable.

The wood Ken uses is salvaged from around the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. In the interest of conservation, he uses mostly trees that have been downed by the wind or felled for safety reasons. There is very little waste, as he uses the McNaughton System to produce small bowls from inside big ones, turns scraps of wood into small items such as butter knives, and burns any residual wood in his woodstove.

All of his products have non-toxic, food-friendly finishes on them. He starts with walnut oil and then top-coats each item with beeswax.

Care of your bowl is easy if you remember that wood is a living thing and doesn't like extreme temperatures or dampness. Keep it out of your fridge, oven, microwave and dishwasher, and clean by simply wiping the inside with a damp cloth. Towel it dry right away and also allow it to air-dry before storing it. The finish used is Walnut Oil, which is food-safe and may easily be reapplied if needed. Mineral oil can also be used, and a bit of rubbed-in beeswax makes a perfect top dressing for the wood. It is best to avoid using regular cooking or salad oils as a finish, as these may go rancid in time. Scratches can often be taken out with some fine steel wool and walnut oil.