Paul Deacon

From: Kent, UK

Background:

I’ve always had a love of the outdoors, growing up on the border of Kent and London it was always an adventure going camping with the Cubs & Scouts.

For a long time I made things from wood for family & friends, and it’s brilliant now making them for people to help rewild their gardens.

What's Paul up to?:

In between fulfilling orders I’m always working on new designs for things people can add to their garden to help their local wildlife.

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Paul Deacon

Paul is a passionate craftsman whose work is rooted in a love of nature and a respect for the landscapes around him. Paul creates thoughtful garden woodwork pieces that encourage wildlife to flourish: from bug hotels and frog logs to unique axe mounts and wall hangings. Each design is shaped by his hands and guided by the natural beauty of reclaimed and coppiced wood.

As co-founder of Rewild at Heart, Paul brings creativity and sustainability together, ensuring that every piece not only looks beautiful but also plays a role in restoring balance to our gardens and green spaces. His work celebrates the imperfect textures and stories of the wood itself, giving it new life while supporting the creatures that depend on it.

Paul's Work

I’ve always preferred working with physical materials rather than digitally. Ray’s the opposite, and some of our best work is when we combine our areas of expertise.

Often when designing my garden woodwork, the function comes first and dictates the form, and I can then be creative with the style it takes. I love the aesthetic of old Norse & Viking iconography and woodwork style, so I try to incorporate that where I can – you can especially see this in my axe wall mounts.

Paul on Conservation & Sustainability:

I love hearing about rewilding reintroductions, but I’m most passionate about the things we can all do to help our outdoor spaces be that bit wilder. I love the cascading “bottom-up” effect we can have by making changes which help our local insects, which then has a positive effect on birds, bats and more.

I always ensure I have “hedgehog highways” and covered areas for slow worms in my garden: not to mention my bug hotels and butterfly refreshment stations.

Our focus with the woodwork is to help people make small changes to their garden to have a positive impact. We use coppiced & naturally-fallen wood for our frog logs & toad abodes, and recycled & reclaimed materials wherever possible – particularly our bee hotel made from pallet wood.

I love robins because they’re so feisty and territorial, and a beloved British icon.

Shop Songbird

One of the favourite wild places I’ve visited is the “Hippo’s Yawn” rock in Australia. I find it fascinating both how these rock formations come about, and how we ascribe patterns and meanings to them.

The most special wild place though is much closer to home: our friend’s woodland in Kent is where Ray & I came up with Rewild at Heart and have so many memories camping over the years.

Paul's Recommendation:

My favourite product of ours has to be my “Luxury Bee Hotel,” which was the first product I designed as part of Rewild at Heart. The clay interior is made specially for mason bees which is a unique addition you don’t see in other bug hotels.

Check out the Luxury Bee Hotel

Why work with Rewild at Heart?

I bloody co-founded it! (Ray didn’t have us in mind when he set up this question!)

I love that the projects I make are used by people around Britain and beyond to help out their local wildlife, it’s a great feeling helping to make a difference.

Shop Hand-Crafted, Sustainable Woodwork

Paul’s work brings together craftsmanship, sustainability, and a deep love of wildlife. Each design is handmade from reclaimed or naturally fallen wood, carrying its own unique character. If you’d like to see more of his creations, explore the full collection of Paul’s handmade woodwork - crafted to help nature thrive in every garden.