Ray Mears founded Woodlore in 1983 as a way of passing on the skills and knowledge which he had learnt throughout his early life; he achieved this by running the very first dedicated Bushcraft courses in the UK,
at first just by himself.

In the decades that have followed, Ray has never swayed from his original aim, and continues to bring Bushcraft to the rest of the world via his books, television programmes and Woodlore's ever-expanding range of courses. Despite the various commitments that come from being an author, lecturer and presenter, Ray continues to be hands-on with the running of Woodlore, and is involved in all major areas of the company today.

Diana joined Woodlore in 2005, beginning her journey as a packer in the warehouse. It wasn’t long before she moved into the course department in 2006, where she started as an administrator and steadily progressed to Operations Manager. Over time, Diana expanded her role to include purchasing within the clothing and equipment department, alongside overseeing social media and marketing. In 2017, Diana was appointed Assistant Director and now plays a key role in running the Woodlore office.

Born and raised in East Sussex, Diana has a lifelong love of the outdoors and spends much of her free time with horses and her black Labrador, Lily. A familiar face at the office, Lily can often be found curled up under a desk, enjoying a well-earned nap. In her spare time Diana also enjoys attending local rallies with her partner, showcasing their vintage car, tractor and steam
engine.

Becky joined Woodlore in 2009. With over 30 years of leather working experience, Becky started out in the saddlery trade but quickly realised that her passion lay in designing and producing other leather goods. Luckily, her saddlery training was very diverse and set her up well to pursue other avenues of leatherworking. She loves to make and create in any material; canvas has proved to be a particularly popular combination with leather at Woodlore. Becky has been producing leather goods for Woodlore for many years - it all started with a single knife sheath for Ray.

Working for Woodlore full-time has now allowed for an expansion in the range of leather and canvas goods.

Becky's favourite pastimes include country walking, gardening, yoga and anything creative. Attending the Wilderness Navigation course in 2011 opened up the beautiful South East countryside for Becky; she says her weekend rambles have become far more interesting - no more guide books.

Lisa joined Woodlore in 2024. She doesn't consider herself an outdoors person though despite this is no stranger to remote places, in all weathers. 10 years serving in St John's Ambulance had her on duty in various locations throughout the South East. Her most memorable duty however was for the funeral of Princess Diana.

Lisa has always had an interest in winter sports and learned to cross country ski while living in Norway. Though if you ask her, she would rather be on a snowboard, a skill she learnt in the USA. She is a keen traveller and is working through an ever-growing list of places to experience.

Back on her native soil now, she is fostering her long standing interest in Archery, just a beginner she still has much to learn. A fair portion of her spare time however is taken up with a myriad of artistic and crafting hobbies or spending time with friends and family.

Matt joined Woodlore in 2024. He likes to immerse himself into the world of computers and technology, exploring its innovations and possibilities. He very much enjoys his passion, saying that it's what drives him to learn and experience new things.

Beyond the digital realm, Matt finds balance through his love of landscape and nature photography. The peace and quiet of the outdoors helps him disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature. In this, he has taken a liking to camping in, and exploring the beautiful woodlands of the country. In his free time at home, he indulges in the creative hobby of painting miniatures – particularly of Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons figurines.

Matt settled well into working at Woodlore, having spent 8 years working with online marketplaces and mail order services. He says that it's a role that meshes surprisingly well with his tendencies to learn and experience, and that he enjoys seeing this experience put to good use.

Reece joined Woodlore in 2026, bringing a diverse background spanning retail management, manufacturing, and a long career as a professional 3D generalist and art director. Working in studios and as an independent contractor, he has specialised in character and game asset creation, materials, texturing, Adobe Substance workflows, art pipeline management, and scripting.

While 3D art is his profession, it is also his passion. Outside work, he can often be found modelling, animating, or building computers. A natural problem-solver, Reece enjoys understanding systems, improving them, and seeing how far they can be pushed. He thrives on learning, tackling challenges, and continually developing new skills.

His creative interests extend beyond the digital world into woodworking, music, and photography, all supported by a keen artistic eye. Raised near the coast, he still appreciates sea air and good fish and chips.

At home, Reece shares life with two cats, Yenn and Senuna—one permanently grumpy, the other full of energy—and proudly considers himself a full-time cat dad.