One Manifesto

Why we MAKE things. In a world where consumer goods have become cheap (in every sense) why bother creating something you could just go out and buy? I don’t know for sure, but it fills some need within myself to know that much of what I own or use was made by me or an actual craftsperson.

“But my own reasons for woodworking don’t have to do with the chance to work with quality tools, or even to produce quality work. I think what captures me is the opportunity to do something with my own hands.
When I see all the top of the line machines being put to use on some woodworking shows, I imagine that process taking me further away from feeling the wood being worked.”

Have a look at Wesley’s post and follow it over to Paul Sellers’ . They are both worth reading.

From Sellers’ blog:

“The quest for success was no longer how much I made but how I made and what I made and with what I made. Here I found peace as I sliced my handsaw down a long board and made rails for a clock. Here I found peace as I sharpened my chisels and carved wood until a tenon quietly emerged from chips on my benchtop. I understood the harmony of marriage when the tenon slid inside its mortise and the dovetails interlocked to marry for life.  I began to understand what dedication meant. “

A very small and random selection of the simple little things I’ve made from the past decade.  Nothing like Paul’s work but they are intimate to my soul as I know I made them.