There is no shortcut in the process of coming together between maker and user.  In the world of wood artisanship, there is a sense that building by hand somehow puts more of the maker in a piece, and thus, moves him or her closer to the user of the work. The basic problem with this is what does “hand made” mean?  I’ve

As a boy of 12, I got to work in a cabinetmaker’s shop. I say ‘work’, but help was more like what I did. I swept floors, kept machinery clean, went for coffee and did little things. The cabinetmaker showed me how to sand the edges of doors and round off the sharp corners. I learned how to support heavy