yunika.dk » Life

The best gifts are free – wood

tmk — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 07:55:52 +0000

One day when I came to the workshop I found a big lump of wood nicely giftwrapped on the table. My girlfriend had stumbled upon it when coming home wit the train - and carried it all the way home (and it’s heavy!). I think it was one of the best gifts I received for christmas. Its a tendency that has grown over the last six months where my friends have started picking up wood that they have come across and given it to me as presents. It really makes me smile and feel good. First of all it shows that they understand part of my passion and think of me - secondly it gives the pieces that come out of that an even stronger story. The downside is the drying time - my workshop is overfloated with wood that needs to dry for at least three to six months before I can use it - first world problems… A childhood friend found these which are supposedly some sort of near extinct type of palisander which was cut up during the 70-ties. This is the lump that my girlfriend carried home. I think it is beechwood but I'm not really sure yet.

My local store is running out of wood!

tmk — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 08:07:56 +0000

My local supply store that used to be a machine wood work shop is running out of massive wood - and they are not getting any more. Luckily they still have some left so I need to pick up as much as I can afford before it’s to late. I just purchased these to pieces - the small one beechwood for a coffee table (made by order) and the other one is oak which I hope will be enough to make a table top for our own new dinning table. It was really practical to be able to pick up hardwood locally but it seems that I need to find a new supplier…

Fixing up the knife that i got from my grandfather as a teenager

tmk — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:35:04 +0000

When I was a teenager I remember me and one of my school friends being fascinated with knives and we even started making our own ones (of cause never finalized). My mother was extremely affraid of my with tools and knifes so I wasn't even allowed to have it anyway. When I became a "boy scout" and got the "knife certificate" I was allowed anyway and when my grandfather found an already old knife in a dumbster and gave it to me as a gift. I was thrilled! Of cause it wasn't really sharp and the blade was almost black already then. Then a month ago in my workshop I realized that was missing a real knife - simply for cutting wood and shaping edges - and started considering buying one. Then I remembered my grandfathers old knife and crazily enough I even knew which old box to look in to find it. I'm sorry to say that in my eager to work on it I forgot to take a picture of the old knife - but I'm very pleased with how it looks today! I replaced the old broken blade with new one made of mahagony and then i sanded and polished the blade until I could see my own reflection in it. I re-found my childhood fascination with "knives" and has started looking for damascus steel blades on eBay. Making the handles are small managable projects that can be completed quickly and can be done even when you are tired. My next problem though is getting it razor sharp - even if the guys on YouTube says it's easy - I do not agree - its hard and another fresh challenge. Original blade after a little polishing - the blade looked like the bottom before I started. Gluing the handle. A little more shape. Finished handle close up - quality German steel. Finished knife and blade.

Relaxing in the workshop

tmk — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 22:00:44 +0000

One of the great things of us getting the workshop is that it gives us an extra room at home - away from home. It hasn't only become a room where we do our creative work but also a recreative space where we invite friends - or like me hanging around til very late just listening to music and drinking some wine. I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that is not just wood and woodworking. Most of these where taken around christmas when I was working on christmas gifts and just enjoying some time off. Lunch with a beer and classical danish meat balls. Nice and tidy workshop with a glass of wine ans a couple of smokes. Listening to my favorite polish piano trio. Looking at the lava lamp that I found in our attic - I got from my younger brother - maybe when I was 20 or so years old. - and I really really like Rickie Lee Jones, at least this old stuff.

Seeing the Danish Cabinet Makers Autumn Exhibition 2013 and a presentation by OeO

tmk — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 21:53:01 +0000

One of things that I never really realized was that the danish design museum is only a few minutes away from work. They have a great library, interresting furniture design exhibitions and even lectures about design related topics. When one of my friends told me about this exhibition I signed up for their newsletter - and by coincidence I ended up seeing a lecture by OeO which was fabulous and highly relevant for me. I even posted my notes from the lecture on Facebook - and the only comment was verbal from my girlfriend: "Maybe that was a bit too much information sharing". So instead of just reposting my notes I'll try to share what I got out of it. Design is about sticking to your dreams. OeO has a concept they call "the dream shelf". Whenever a dream occurs they would sort of put it on that shelf and from time to time they would revisit their dreams - and when the time is ready go for it. If you can dream it you can do it. Design is about challenging and pushing boundaries. Design in itself is nothing but should try to do something "different" and not like everyone else. Take Apple as an example. They essentially have the same product as everyone else - mp3 player, computer, phone, tablet - but they've chosen to do things different and today they set the standard. Design needs to be good business to be sustainable. We have dreams and artistic ideals but if a design is not "good business" it is not sustainable. They didn't say "kill your darlings" - but sometimes you need to compromise and focus on the actual problem that you are solving not your own "little design darling". Design needs to be authentic, emotional and have a reason for being. When a story is told with heart and passion it becomes authentic and interresting. Emotional levels of design helps people relate to it - and feel it. If a design has no reason for being then it has no worth - so start with the story, not the product. To succeed you need to work hard, keep on going and be persistent as hell. It might take you a long time to succeed so being persistent is imperative. Using ambassador and "popular friends" are great ways of sharing your message. Being creative in the field of communication and networking are essential to success and the best one is the idea where little effort will have great impact. Another example is going to a magazine - not with an idea - but a complete and finished concept fitting into their needs. Don't fear the copies. Fear of cheap "chineese" copies are a big factor in the design world but instead your should focus on the authenticity, story and quality of your design. These will greatly outway a cheap copy in any way and instead of being a product it will become an object of affection. Design is not just the shape or form of a product. It is a strategical tool, it's objects of desire, it's stories, it's personality and you can and should define your "design DNA". During the last part of the presentation we were allowed to ask questions and one of the participants asked "what about questionaires and cultural analysis" - and with a laughter he answered "design is dictatorship". Respect for the people and the cultures that your work with are imperative but so is your intution and beliefs. It was a great day! I was back at work. I left early to participate. I learned a lot - and felt so alive! Below a couple of shots from the exhibition

Saying good bye to my first web site

tmk — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 13:26:07 +0000

The past few weeks I have been working on a new web site for Touch me. Feel me. Love me. that better suits my needs. Thus it is time to say good bye to the old site and welcome a new one. I've had it as a key priority that it would allow me to separate works from random blog post as this will allow me to do more posts while I'm working with the projects. Furthermore I am planning to set up a small web shop to allow people to purchase my pieces. It has been a really great process to go through all my projects and selecting the ones to be on the new site. One thing is that I feel that both the design and quality of my pieces a very high but also seeing the actual progress that I have made within the last year is kind of amazing. I hope you will enjoy the new site and take some time going through the different pieces.

Burnout and a new work shop

tmk — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 21:56:58 +0000

Woodworking in my kitchen has been a blast but let's face it - its small and makes our appartment an eternal dust trap. Since the building we live in actually had a spare room in the basement that has previously been used as a workshop my suggestion to rent it was approved. So for last couple of months I've been establishing a new workshop in the basement and I would like to invite you in for a glance. A lot has happened since my last post more than three months ago. Of cause I've been doing a lot of woodworking projects that I haven't managed to blog about yet and life has been tough. About two months ago my head just went blank one day coming home from work and the world crumbled. Unable to get out of bed, make food or feel anything. I just knew that "this was it" I couldn't take the work pressure anymore - and I'm still in treatment and still on sick leave - but things are getting much better. Part of my recovery has been to establish the new workshop in the basement - plastering and painting walls, furnishing the place and moving all my stuff from the appartment. Its really a fantastic oppertunity for us to get that extra creative room. My girlfriend can make jewelery and I can do my craft projects - and we've gotten another place where we can be at home making it a great place to just go and "be on your own". The new workshop with tool storage on wheels rebuild from the desk originally in the room and my old workbench redesigned to be a high precision sawing table. My newly purchased old school european style workbench. Our resting area where we can sit and relax, read magazines, listen to old CD's (finally found use for them) or have a cup of tea or coffee (or beer). My girlfriends jewellery making corner. Early installment where I just used my old workbench. Desk with a metal vise perfect for both computer and creative work - or just listening to music. Rough walls after plastering.

Going “live” – a thank you note

tmk — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:26:07 +0000

Last night I finally just let go and shared the link to Touch me. Feel me. Love me. on Facebook. My little project is no longer a "secret story" and it feels great! I am very grateful for the feedback - the likes, the shares, the comments - they make a huge difference. Even if the idea is to decouple from the information-technology-fast-lane and do something completely analog without pressure, being liked, acknowleged and appreciated makes a sunny day even brighter and more beautiful! As an addon I received a long awaited package from U.K. with a couple of new japanese saws and a tiny hand plane (read: little boy unpacking his Christmas presents) and the only thought on my mind was how to say thank you for your kind words... So here it is - a night in the workshop - 67 pieces of wood cut Today saying "Tak!" (Thanks in Danish)!

No sudden cure

tmk — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:47:49 +0000

I've been in the workshop all day and the image above is from last night. I've completed my first designed chair. The image is from the "template making session" for the footrest to accompany the chair - my second drawn/designed piece of furniture - and today I've been rough cutting the pieces and started doing the joins. To be honest; I'm exhaused! For the first time all the pieces has been sawn in the same day and I'm prette close to assembly of the first side. Physically I can feel the challenge and I've been in a pretty bad mood most of the day. I've made the most precise cuts ever and I feel that the "craft" part is moving in the right direction - fast - and I'm sure that I'll be able to complete the footrest faster and better than ever before. So whats my problem? Why am I in a bad mood? The road to succes and "making it" seems very long, and over the last couple of weeks I've found other young designers on the Internet that has done marvelous work. How am I to compete? I have a full time job that requires even more time and I have a life that is more important than any piece of furniture. So why am I doing it and why does it matter so much? First of all I think that it "restores" my feeling of masculinity and control. Its been hard to find motivation for the Gym but repeated sawing and physical work makes a positive difference on my body. At the same time I feel that I'm actually creating something both beautiful and useful - and at least working towards a dream that is mine. But still - I'm unsure - at a crossroad - likely affraid to fail whatever road I travel - but I do feel passion and I do feel love… My late night conclusion is obvious - there are no easy fixes and whatever road we chose to travel takes hard work. So no sudden cure - its obvious - its ok - its life - but its also a little annoying!

A workbench in our kitchen

tmk — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:01:41 +0000

While the little workbench on a shelf was a big improvement it was far from problem free. When chiselling wood I would slowly pull down the shelf, and the stability and size was a constant problem. So inspired by videos on Youtube I started constructing my own workbench. It was done during last years summer vacation in July. Our apartment is 56 sqr. meters - so fitting a workshop into the kitchen is an achievement in itself. It is done using cheap glued up beechwood and can be disassembled. Initially constructed as a table that the small workbench could be mounted and stored on - but I ended up purchasing a real vice on eBay. Today it has become my almost daily retreat where I create, think, relax - and like now write a post on my blog. When I was a kid I always wanted a small "safe room" where all the things I needed was collected, so I didn't need to go out in the "dangerous" world. The kitchen woodshop has become that - even though I don't fear the world (that much) anymore. TODO: Add original images