Artisanal Craftsmanship: A Man’s Workshop

We’ve got something a bit different today everyone, the first ever guest article on ThinkInPeach. Written by a friend of mine, Graeme Smith, I’m excited to share this, so – without further ado – let’s get into it.

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This is not a man cave, Keith… It’s called a workshop

Guest article by Graeme Smith from THISISGRAEME.

I like to make stuff. I’m a self-taught leatherworker and more recently I’ve started working with bone as well. 

I started down this path at the same time that I was dealing with an extremely stressful work situation.

Working with my hands, learning to make cool stuff out of leather, provided me with a way to carve out some order from the chaos around me.

It was Hunter Drew who pointed out to me that what I was doing was a kind of therapy, an antidote to the collapse of my business at the time. 

As a craftsman, albeit a bit of a late bloomer, I realised that I needed a workshop. And that’s what I want to explore in this post. 

If you’re like me and you find yourself, for whatever reason, craving the physicality of getting your hands dirty and making real stuff in the world of atoms, as opposed to the world of bits and bytes, then this is something you’ll be able to relate to as well.

Perhaps if you are an evil genius, you would prefer an underground lair in the side of a hollowed-out volcano on a deserted island.

But the idea is the same.

Deep down, you know you need a space in which you are free to make and create and set aside the demands of work and family and find your flow. 

Now, I also like to write. And I do a lot of writing for my job, which is in education. I work from home where I have a small office, but this space doesn’t work for my crafting pursuits, which are kind of messy. 

So, I kept coming back to this idea of the workshop and the craftsman and the relationship between the two.

As a teacher, I’ve spent many years thinking about and criticising what some have called “the factory model” of education. I think you know what I’m talking about.

But until recently, I didn’t really have a good alternative. Now, though, instead of today’s factory approach to education, I think we should consider returning to the workshop (or the studio or laboratory) as a better way of teaching and learning. 

I think this applies in general, but that’s not what I want to focus on here. What I want to explore here is how it applies to you and your unique situation. 

And I know this sounds idealistic.

I realise that. 

And I know that when you are starting out in your trade or craft – your workshop or workspace has to be practical. 

So I want you to think about how you can make do with what you’ve got.

For a long time, my workshop was the dining room table. Then it was a bag of tools and a cardboard box. 

Now I have a workbench in the back of my garage. I built this workbench myself from discarded wooden pallets which I picked up for free. 

This meant I only paid for some screws, glue and four sturdy castor wheels to go on the bottom.

It’s a bit rough and ready. And as with anything, there were pros and cons to taking this approach. 

When I worked on the dinner table, I felt I had integrated my craftwork with the rest of the house and family. 

But of course, the disadvantage was that I would have to pack everything up if we wanted to eat at the table (as my wife would often remind me every night at dinner time). 

The continual need to pack up and set up the next time grates on everyone’s nerves after a while. 

The advantage with a bag of tools and a sturdy cardboard box, though, was that I could take it all with me anywhere. 

And I did exactly this at one stage. We rented our house out for 6 months and spent the time travelling around and staying with friends. 

I took my bag of tools and cardboard box of bits and pieces with me and made belts at a friend’s beach house one month and a steampunk costume for my daughter another month while staying with family

Now, back in our own home, I have a dedicated workbench and cupboard in my garage. But I find it hard to keep these spaces organised. 

So, this year, I have a project planned where I can mount my tools on the wall above the workbench. 

But my dream is to one day have a full-on studio or workshop that combines office and craft-working space with lots of room for tools and projects and storage. 

And perhaps there’s a forge just outside so I can make custom machetes.

But, let’s get to the first point.

• You Need A Workshop… Even a portable one.

And having a workshop, or setting up some arrangement like this so that you feel like you have one, can help you learn and grow in different ways.

It’s also likely that you need to have something like a studio or a laboratory in place before you really get serious about that hobby, side-hustle or passion project you’ve been thinking about for so long. 

You might have an existing space that you can revamp or even repurpose. Or, like me, you could create a portable workshop.

Now, if you stop reading there and go and take action along the lines I’ve said you’ll be winning. 

But there’s more to it than this. The more I’ve learned about craft and craftsmanship the more I’ve realised that the relationship between the craftsman (and ladies this includes you) and the workshop is deep.

So, if you’re still with me, I want to drop three specific ideas about this. Here we go…

The workshop has always been:

1. The craftsman’s home. 
2. A holy place.
3. Somewhere where we enact sacred rituals. 

Let’s unpack each of these in turn.

With regards to the first point, this has been true since ancient times. Literally true. Traditionally, the home and the workshop were one for the craftsman.

And keep in mind, the ancient workshop was not a factory. Rather, it was a place where labour and life mixed face-to-face. 

Workshops are often small in terms of size and a good place to be. Is it any wonder then that you’d rather spend all of your time there?

Here’s the second thing:

• The workshop has always been a holy place.

Early medieval craftsmanship found a home in the walled monastery and secluded nunnery. 

It’s a fact that many of history’s great scientific discoveries, innovations and works of art needed a special kind of silence and stillness.

In these often isolated mountain refuges, men and women learned and practised all kinds of arts, crafts and traditional practices. 

Some of these places were largely self-sufficient and sustainable communities. You might have found people gardening, doing carpentry, practising medicine, weaving, sewing and brewing alcohol. 

At my grandparents’ house, my grandfather’s workshop was outside in a separate shed attached to his garage. 

But it was only a few metres from my grandmother’s kitchen and the fresh scones and banana cake that were always being baked.

There was always time for food and drink and a chat at my Grandfather’s workshop.

And this brings me to the third point. 

• Workshops, both ancient and modern, have glued people together through sacred rituals.

Sacred rituals…? What do I mean? 

• The shared cup of tea or coffee.
• Catching up on the news.
• Sharing information.
• Mentoring or even taking on parental roles.
• Giving advice, whether workplace or, more often, life advice.
• Learning or teaching new skills.
• Working on something together for a common purpose.

Yes, these are sacred rituals. I’m 100% serious. 

There is a huge push to shift education and learning online, but consider the following:

• Think about your own learning or teaching experiences where you felt BOTH the workshop (or lab or studio) AND “at home” vibe.

And if you’ve had an experience like this, what was the impact? 

There’s more on all of this in my eBook if you’re curious. Which now, by the way, comes bundled with my 50-minute masterclass on craftsmanship.

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Remember to check out more from Graeme Smith on his blog: THISISGRAEME.

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I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologise for my lack of publishing lately. My focus has been entirely directed on writing my up-coming book. It will be of a high standard, so is taking up most of my free-time.

Keep an eye out for its release in the near future.