When I first started working on my Allermuir range of wooden bud vases, the process was guided entirely by instinct. 

I shaped the initial design by eye, relying on what felt right. 

While this approach served me well, I knew there was room for improvement. A chance to refine and make something even more balanced.

A chat with a fellow woodturner on Instagram, @gorillabowls (check him out, he makes amazing things), gave me the inspiration needed to work out what was missing. 

He reminded me of a book I hadn’t opened in ages: Classic Forms by Stuart E. Dyas*. 

It’s one of those books that I had forgotten that I owned. By rediscovering it and I wonder why I ever stopped referring to it.

Classic Forms is an indispensable resource for turners, craftspeople, architects, and designers. 

It brings together foundational concepts from Ancient Greece and Rome. Showcasing an extensive range of designs that have evolved from them. 

The book contains over 90 photographs and more than 500 line drawings. Covering mouldings, columns, pedestals, vases, balusters, and candlesticks.

Among its many examples, the section on baluster designs for candlesticks caught my eye. 

I noticed similarities between an element in one of the examples and the shape I’d been working on for the Allermuir bud vase range. 

With the book as a guide, I could see ways to refine my designs.

One change was to slightly widen the mouth of the vase. 

It’s a small adjustment, but it gave the piece more presence and visual weight. 

To tie the design together, I was then able to use the width of the mouth to determine the distance between the vase’s base and its widest point. 

This was something I picked out directly from the example of the baluster piece. I even got my ruler out to check.

As subtle a tweak as this is, it brought a sense of balance and cohesion. Adding a little bit of visual nuisance that wasn’t quite there before.

Well, I think so anyway. 

This tweaking of dimensions and shape has reminded me of the value in revisiting pieces. Trying to improve where possible. 

I am in now way a designer. And have never studied any such principles in depth. Only reading about them casually. 

But, classic forms endure for a reason. They follow proportions and rules that work. 

Like the the "Rule of Thirds" which suggests placing design elements at one-third or two-thirds positions creates a more pleasing composition. 

Similarly, the "Golden Ratio," approximately 1:1.618, has been used for centuries to achieve pleasing proportions. It is even seen in nature. 

But it’s not about copying. All this is about learning from the principles and using them to create your own work.

The experience has also made me think about my other two ranges, West Kip bud vase and Castlelaw bud vase. 

It’s clear that there’s potential to refine their shapes and forms in similar ways. 

A fresh perspective, paired with a bit of guidance from a resource like Classic Forms, could help elevate them further.

Sometimes, the smallest changes can have the biggest impact. 

Revisiting and refining isn’t a sign that something was wrong—it’s just part of the process of making it better. And for me, that’s one of the most satisfying aspects of woodturning: there’s always room to grow and improve.

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