Blog

I can think of no other valid way to begin than sharing a little about the man who apprenticed me. Some people could say they apprenticed with a craftsman, but that wasn’t my case. My part in the decision was really quite passive now that I look back. All I did really was say yes. It was he who chose me, who decided to take me on as a student, as a disciple. To give me everything he had; above all, the knowledge, both personal and professional, cultivated throughout the decades – and I cannot begin to imagine all that the decades implies. He chose to take on one of the largest responsibilities an artisan could, especially so in twenty first century UK. I’ll never know why this was so, possibly he might not entirely either. The truth of the matter is that he did. That’s the way it was, and nothing was ever the same since. Paul apprenticed me, and thank God he’s still here to carry on apprenticing me, albeit in a different form. 

Paul was there a decade ago for my 18th birthday and he was here just recently for my 28th. I have seen him through tough times (though not the toughest), working diligently to meet the needs of his family, me included of course. I now see him focused, diligent as ever, yet daring to dream dreams, even late into his life. I see a man conscious of his limitations: his weaknesses and his virtues. A man who knows his life is a gift, and who dreads the thought of wasting a single day of it. Few people have I ever met; people who stubbornly refuse to settle for anything less than what they were meant to be.

One of the things I now most look up to Paul for, as do many others I’m sure, is that after more than fifty years of working with wood, he is still in love with his craft and speaks so passionately about it. But it’s not just his craft, which certainly is a fascinating one; I think it’s more about the place his craft and his work occupies in his life and in his worldview. This, I believe, is what Paul means when he describes himself as an amateur woodworker, though perhaps not all may have grasped the meaning; Paul will work with wood, as has done in the past, whether he gets paid for it or not. The thing is, he knows work was never meant to be a curse, or a necessary evil (like he might say of money, capitalism or even democracy). Work certainly has become that for many people, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that we all have decisions to make, and that those decisions really matter. However, such an attitude towards your work doesn’t  just come from wishful thinking. You cannot manufacture it; it has to be part of a deeper reality, and that’s what makes all the difference. 

Paul went about his profession with a very particular view; a view that what you do defines who you are. And not in any simple or naive way; I believe Paul sees it in terms of decisions and attitudes. If you live your life with integrity, you won’t do anything -or say anything-  you don’t really believe in. It’s not about what you would like to do, but what you feel you ought to do. Paul calls it vocation, from the Latin vocare: to call. When you believe you were destined to choose a certain path because there is something in you that was just there that you can’t explain, then you follow it and you live your life cautiously, with a sense of gravity, as though you were commissioned for that specific purpose, and you certainly don’t want to be casual about it. Whatever you may think of the transcendent, the feeling of responsibility you get when you know you were meant to choose and follow a certain career leads you to go about it with everything you’ve got. This is what Paul has done and is still encouraging others to do, even though we live in an age when we’re told to rationalise each one of our decisions, making such type of commitment undesirable.

So there are really two emphases which Paul tirelessly tries to convey through his work and his outreach. They may be summed up in lifestyle and woodworker. Woodworker is the profession he happened to choose and led him on the path he’s on. He has made changes along the years in the way he went about his work, and it would be fair to say he has truly mastered his craft like few contemporaries have (that the world knows of, anyway). He’s passionate for people to venture into it, as little or as much as they are able to, since it definitely has the potential to transform you and to shape you like it has him. It can be an excellent medium for a parent to bond with a child in a day and age that desperately calls for more of this. It can also be your first experience creating something with your own hands and your own energy, and for many, it can be a touch of reality for an otherwise tied up worklife. Whether you reserve your woodworking for yourself or you choose it/switch to it as a career, it is a remarkable craft and it seems clear to me why Paul wants everyone to get into it.

The other emphasis, lifestyle, I’m pretty sure Paul may be reluctant to use at times, considering how it has almost become devoid of meaning by its misuse and overuse. Some people even apply the term to justify bad habits that they can’t, or don’t want to give up. In Paul’s usage, lifestyle is about conscious decisions regarding how you live your life based on what you fundamentally believe. It’s therefore much deeper than a general objective description of the measurable components that make up your daily life, most of which may be determined by what others, or even society expects from you. Of course, we are social beings after all, and therefore must conform to general social norms, but there’s a clear difference between living your life on autopilot, doing only what you’re expected to do, and being intentional about your decisions and the values you choose to prioritise. Essentially, lifestyle implies commitment, and is intimately related to your identity. Lifestyle describes who you are based on how you live your life, and you can’t just swap it for another when you feel like it – unless, perhaps,  you have absolutely no clue as to who you are and what you want. 

Paul is a woodworker by trade, but he has made it his lifestyle. Therefore he thinks about woodworking and talks about woodworking. He dreams about it, reads and writes about it and everything that has to do with woodworking. That’s an integral lifestyle. When you believe in what you do to the point that you strive to excel in it and be the best you were meant to be. Only once you’ve grasped this reality and made it your own, can you begin to experiment what Paul means with accuracy, from the root word meaning done with care: a way of living whereby the how matters as much as the what in everything you do. 

This may be the most precious thing Paul gave me – even more so than his craft, perhaps. I know it’s the same he gave his own children, therefore I count myself extremely privileged, and this only means I carry a much greater responsibility. It has been a few years since my apprenticeship began but be that as it may, it’s an honour to reaffirm my initial yes again to that first call. I will continue to learn from Paul, follow his example and walk the way he showed me. I see no other future than to stand beside him as an apprentice, and just as I see him doing every day, forget about what may have been and focus on what lies ahead.

For everything you’ve given me, Paul, and are still giving me – thank you.

If you haven’t already done so, here’s a link to Paul’s website where you can find out about his current and future projects, and sign up to stay up to date with his latest posts.