‘Notes’, ‘thoughts’, ‘approach’ & ‘philosophy’
I wanted to put together a page here where I draw together some thoughts on my approach to the work I do. I struggled to think of what to title the page. In some ways I mean approach, but in others it’s more of a philosophy or guiding ethos. It is also just my musings committed to paper and various things I find interesting. I absolutely don’t want to sound self-important and aggrandising in any of this. I am just a joiner, have always wanted to be a joiner and want to be known as such. One day maybe I would love to get to a level where my skill as a craftsman can be recognized. I do certainly think deeply about the craft, my place in it and what I’d like to achieve in my career. Here I have tried to put those thoughts down on paper in as coherent a manner as possible. I’m sure my views will evolve over time so maybe I’ll add to this page or update it as I go. I hope you’ll indulge me in the exercise, read on and maybe find it interesting!
Many thanks, Patrick.
Firstly there are a few terms which are fairly ubiquitous in the industry at the moment. I’d like to address what these mean to me here…
Handmade: Made by hand, not by machine, and therefore of superior quality.
To me handmade means exactly that, to be made by human hand. In my work this finds its voice in a few key areas. Firstly, an emphasis on traditional tools, materials and methods. Joinery for the most part has remained constant for hundreds of years. The way things were made in 1722, 1822 and 1922 can and should remain largely the same in 2022 and beyond.
Granted, advancements in technology have changed some of the ways in which we do things with a few huge leaps forward like the powered saw or power planer, but I firmly believe that tooling and technology should never come at the detriment of actual skill. Of course the imperatives of running a commercial entity mean I do both use and in fact enjoy using machines, but I should absolutely be able and willing to perform the task by hand if the situation demands it, with a hand tool which is familiar to a craftsman from any era.
Often, hand tools are more efficient and I believe this is a mark of modern craftsmanship, whereby the craftsman determines in the moment what works best in order to create the desired outcome. It is for that reason in large part that I choose to stay small. I currently have few aspirations to grow too large, although I would welcome the opportunity to take someone on to teach in the future. By doing this I hope to best control the process by which I make things and the overall service I provide to my clients.
Sustainability: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level/avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.
Sustainability can mean a lot of things. Building and making things is almost by its nature wasteful. At its most elemental we are harnessing the world’s natural resources and creating something.
Sustainability, and my approach to it is incredibly important to my work. I address this firstly through careful use and approach to materials. I always aim to use only sustainably sourced timber bearing the FSC mark and also always try to understand exactly where the timber has come from. For example with regards to hardwoods, I try not to use anything from South America but favour responsibly sourced timber from Europe. Where possible I will always use native British timber and I have built up a great network of suppliers to facilitate this.
I also try to minimise the use of engineered boards in all of my work and try to incorporate as much solid timber as possible. When I do use boards I always look to use the most environmentally friendly product available. For example, I always try to use plywood for cabinet carcasses versus MDF as this is better for the planet and better for the customer. Plywood typically has the stability and workability inherent in an engineered board without the harmful pollutants that can be found in materials such as MDF. Added to this, I always aim to use the absolute best quality of any given material as I believe quality leads to things which will stand the test of time.
Secondly and more importantly, I am always seeking to create pieces with the utmost longevity in mind. I want my work to last. Through this I hope to do the best I can to remedy the issue we have with ever-mounting waste and depletion of our natural resources. If I can build something which, with careful use and a bit of love will last a lifetime, this to me is key in effecting change.
I seek to achieve this by careful consideration of construction methods and the use of quality materials. There is no point in beating around the bush here; this is always more expensive than other options, but I am a huge believer in the phrase the ‘cost of everything and the value of nothing’. Certainly the initial outlay might be a little more, but over the life of the product the value inherent will be so much greater. I’d like anything I make to stand in direct opposition to the throwaway transient approach to goods which, while understandably have become so common, fills me with great sadness.
I am also cogent and recognize the fact that this is a privileged viewpoint to take and that not everyone might be able to afford such a high level of quality. I do think however that this need not be the case, and that with good design and careful appreciation of materials this can be accessible to all. I think the world would be a better place if we had more handmade tables in utilitarian pine with strong simple joinery vs chipboard and cardboard side tables from a certain Swedish furniture manufacturer (I should add here that I have huge respect for that Swedish furniture maker and believe they have done more to advance the joining of wood together than any other single entity and have allowed people of all walks of life to access good design).
Bespoke: Made for a particular customer or user.
This is another word which gets used a lot and one I try my best to stay away from. Simply by virtue everything I do is ‘bespoke’ or ‘made to measure’. Every project is different, every house is different and every client’s needs are different and it therefore seems a slightly redundant word. It is individual by nature and I simply don’t do anything which could be termed standard or ‘off the shelf’. If a space for a cabinet is 519 millimetres wide and 424 millimetres deep I will make the cabinet 519 mm wide and 424 mm deep in order to fully utilise all the available space and give the end user the best possible outcome and value for money. Even things that I have made multiples of, like my garden bench, are all different in that I will select individual timber for the seat and back or match the undercarriage in colour to the wood in the most pleasing way.
‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’ William Morris.
I first came across this quote in a book on the early Arts and Crafts movement. For some reason it resonated with me at the time and has stuck with me ever since. It seems to me to sum up exactly what I should be aiming to create and provides a neat one liner regarding what drives the work I do. From it you can take all the various threads I have elaborated on above; quality materials, honest construction and a focus on what it is the work is supposed to be doing, making sure it has maximum utility for the end user.
Added to this, the Arts and Crafts movement championed the keeping alive of traditional skills and the use of native materials. This is something I greatly believe in. I am inspired by the long history of working wood, especially so in the United Kingdom. The history and lineage that can be traced in the trade fascinates me, in that something I am doing now echoes through the generations and that good work stands as a testament to those who made it and to the craftsmanship it embodies. It is absolutely imperative we do not lose these skills and moreover pass them on where we can. The world would be absolutely the poorer for it.
