A Conversation with a Carpenter

My father used to be a carpenter. Before he got married to my mother, he had been learning carpentry knowledge from the old carpenters in the village. Although he is now an interior designer, he often tells me that the knowledge he gained from studying carpentry is also very helpful for his interior design.

He told me that carpenters and architects had very similar roles. They are both coordinators and balancers.

When I asked him why he had given up his job as a carpenter, he told me that with the advent of factories, the carpenter's role had become increasingly "awkward" and his wages had fallen sharply as demand dropped. So carpenters, including him, switched careers.

From talking to him, I learned I lot and also documented his process of making a handmade wooden table.I realized that in the modern age, the barriers to entry for carpenters have become much lower (the advent of tools has greatly reduced the difficulty). Therefore, hand-made woodwork has gradually become an exhibition of various tools from the original art or craft.














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