Twisted toymaker Paul Spooner on his 'wooden cartoons' 14 March 2013 Last updated at 02:53 Help Paul Spooner specialises in a field known as 'mechanical automata'. He makes elaborate constructions from various materials - with a strong preference for wood - as much for the joy of making them, as to further any practical purpose. Also known as 'vintage hacking', his work fuses the worlds of conceptual art, cartooning, engineering and theatrical set design. Commissions can come from a variety of sources, including galleries, museums, theatre companies, private collectors and companies who require an elaborate contraption, including, for example, Louis Vuitton. After studying art and design at Lancaster and Cardiff, he went on to carve out a reputation through Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, in Falmouth. Opened in 1979 by founder Sue Jackson, it sold simple wooden toys alongside knitwear and ceramics, but went on to become an institution dedicated to mechanical automata, eventually relocating to Covent Garden in London in 1985, as its reputation and popularity grew. The BBC's LJ Rich caught up with Paul Spooner at his cottage-cum-workshop in deepest Cornwall, to learn about his methods, and his motivations.