Through the course of my 24 years I have gone through many iterations of this phrase, none of which were ever the normal kids dream job. When my classmates wanted to be police officers or firefighters I wanted to be an Archeologist so I could discover Dinosaurs. Later, when beginning to prepare for college my classmates were looking at careers in Medicine or teaching, I was looking to move to the coast and be a marine biologist. Finally I committed to an undergraduate program in pragmatic design for my Architecture degree and am very glad I did. Alfred State is focused heavily on technology and practical application so I had the advantage of an education not solely based on theoretical design. I am still not convinced I know 100% what I want to be when I grow up though.
I have been spending a lot of time the past few months visualizing and dreaming of an independent wood shop. I have always loved building things and pretending I know what I am doing with construction techniques. I have worked in multiple construction fields and with a large landscape company and the more I discover about the construction industry the more I realize how little I know. What I do know is that the most enjoyable times I have had working have been related to the physical construction or assembly of projects of my design. This has led me to believe that I should strive to obtain a functional shop space in which I can design, build, and potentially sell custom designed projects. I am not even terribly picky about the type of project to work on. My mother-in-law wants a unique playhouse for her grandchildren, that seems like an appropriate place to begin. I also have some ideas about some contemporary furniture pieces using antiquated methods and raw materials. If I were able to develop this passion into a full time occupation I think that would be all the better, but it all begins with finding an appropriate location for the shop and to begin obtaining the proper tools. I think it would be beneficial and even a bit fun to begin learning and gaining an deeper understanding of the properties of wood by constructing some things using the old craftsman tools of old.
An elaborate design from the people at Daniels Woodland
I have been browsing around the internet and found some pretty inspirational stories of people who have begun exactly where I am now and have built quite an empire and a reputation in the wood-working industry. Check out the people and the products over at Daniels Woodland for example. While I think a process on that scale might be a bit excessive, at least it is a group of people doing what they love.
What do you think? Anyone interested in another aspiring craftsman’s unique designs?
