I think the thing that makes a good Welsh Lovespoon is the connection it creates or reinforces between the giver and receiver. I personally prefer the traditional design and there are many who feel the same way but we, as makers, need to adapt to the design differences that are required by a sophisticated customer base. Here in Wales we are inundated with cheap mass produced spoons (often made in China!) which completely misses the idea behind the lovespoon. 

YES it's a tradition worth keeping and I love what you've done with it, Dave.  I especially loved hearing about the spoon that a cancer patient commissioned you for her friend, to remember her by after she was gone.  I loved that. I thought it was an amazing, creative and beautiful way to offer comfort to her friend.

I told you I was going to send you some pix on how I mounted the spoon you did which Ceri bought for me and here they are - I bought a small piece of satin in a color I thought would set it off and it's currently in a cheap frame from Target but I'm making a better frame. I attached the spoon to a cardboard backing, through the satin, with translucent twist ties:

As a carver of lovespoons I may be a bit biased in my belief that the lovespoon tradition is worth keeping and even expanding. Speaking objectively, as much as I can, the tradition celebrates the best parts of the human condition: the deep, emotional and selfless connection between people.  While the lovespoon tradition itself is not exclusively Welsh, the style of the Llwy Garu Gymraig is as Welsh as cawl stew. 

As for the features that must be present in a lovespoon, it's not so much the traditional symbols as some indication of the connections between two or more people or groups of people. This could be sailboats or cats or cars or computers or sheep (!) though some inclusion of the hearts, keyholes, diamonds, etc., would not be amiss to keep the Welsh connection. 

IMHO, a good Welsh lovespoon must be well balanced, pleasing to the eye, and have a graceful,  well executed bowl that contributes to the balance and is not an afterthought hung out on the end. After all,  the bowl is THE defining feature of a spoon. Without a bowl a spoon is just a piece of wood. 

I'm interested in hearing from Welsh and non-Welsh alike to learn what, in your opinion, constitutes a good Welsh love -spoon.  What do you believe are the features which must be present for it to be a lovespoon and do you feel the lovespoon tradition is one worth keeping?  

updated by @david-western: 11/24/19 06:16:51PM