My Grandad was always handy with wood. Actually, that’s a huge understatement, he was a wizard. Looking back at the foggy memories I have of him and the work I saw around the house that he gifted to Mum he had an amazing eye for detail. I always assumed that he was a carpenter, because all I ever knew of him was the fact that he was great with wood. But I found out after he died that he was a painter/decorator by trade which I suppose does need a level of care and detail but certainly threw me a bit.
I always loved wood, and I suppose that’s Mums influence (through my Grandad) I was always taught about “good” wood and staying away from sheet material. Which through education isn’t necessarily correct depending on situation, but you get the picture. As soon as I could do woodwork at school, I jumped in head first and let my creativity run wild. I was always playing around in Dads shed, who as a self-described “bush carpenter” had some gear and a bit of an idea. But, to his credit always made rock-solid stuff and we still sit in a set of Adirondak chairs he knocked up out of old jarrah floorboards from a salvage yard. I spent hours trawling the internet for the best knowledge on how to make this or a trick to do that. The two main things I remember making in high school woodwork was a mirror and a hall table. The mirror was made from old Jam (a. Acuminata) fence posts from my uncle’s farm. Split down the guts and half lapped to look a bit like a # symbol out of branches. I loved it and gave it back to him as a Christmas present. The hall table was a Marri slab hall table with 2 draws. Technically it was a pretty tough project, aesthetically it was average at best and continued to annoy me every time I saw it in my parents’ house. Tragically it fell apart when the removalists picked it up when my folks moved house……. I won’t miss it!
I eventually ended up at a training school for furniture making where I studied under a bloke called Neil Erasmus, who if you have never heard of him is possibly one of the best furniture makers in the world. His attention to detail, skill and design knowledge is second to none and realistically his love for whiskey, mountain biking and a good laugh really made him a top notch bloke and teacher. Through him I got education from a handful of world-renowned maker/designer and gained skills that might even put my Grandad to shame! It opened doors I never thought where even there and I guess meeting my best mate through it all was a plus. Over the 2 year period I made boxes, tables, cabinets, chairs and even a guitar. I got a great understanding of how to use and maintain machines and an even better knowledge on how to drink in country pubs when you aren’t 18. My love of woodwork grew even more and I was dead set on a path of creativity as a future career, which I suppose has worked out to be true. Im just missing the starving artist side of it that could have happened.
I took a few years off and travelled the world. Being young and dumb, meeting lots of very interesting people and doing interesting things – usually fuelled by cheap food and beer. I actually still keep in contact with a few of them almost 15 years on and have travelled back to visit on numerous occasions. I eventually got home and found a job laying timber floors that “would only last until I got on my feet and could start my own guitar making business.” Well, I laid floors for almost 10 years and I have yet to make another guitar! I learnt a hell of a lot in the building industry, made some good friends and cooked my back and knees in the meantime. My plan wasn’t to continue on doing it, but the money was good, I was good at my job and for the most part I was pretty happy where I was in my life. Thankfully I am out now and am a workshop technician and keep a few workshops up and running, which is less taxing on the body and the work is more varied, plus I get to play with machines and “pretend” I’m working when I am actually making things for fun – Read: making sure the machines are in tip top working condition!!
Jumping back to around 2016, when I got the itch again to start making some nicer things, so I thought about trying my hand at woodturning again. Something about watching things change in front of your eyes so immediately drew me to it. Its also fairly quick compared to furniture so in a world where time is a premium (especially now with 2 young kids!) it was nice to jump into a project and finish in a couple of hours. I decided to reach out to one of the other students who was studying the year under me. Little did I know how much that was going to change things for me! I got in touch with Neil Turner, another one for you who haven’t heard of him and his work. I did a weekend in his workshop and made a bowl and a few other bits and bobs that really re-kindled the passion for creating. A couple more weekends with him had me making spoon, bowls, threaded lid boxes all sorts of shit really. Through Neil I have been invited along to weekend workshops and events, he got me interested and involved in the timber harvesting aspect of my business and has been my mentor and friend for a good few years now and his support never wavers. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be writing this if it wasn’t for him. He has changed my life, I say for the better, he might argue that point!
I got myself an old Vicmarc lathe early on that came with a trailer load of wood. I turned one bowl, and then another. Eventually I had bowls, spoons, cheese knives and all sorts of other stuff filling up rooms in my house and a need to off load them. I guess that’s the simplest way to sum up how Harris Homewares started. I needed more space to make more things and I wanted to share my craft with others. So here I am, a Dad working full time (thankfully in a workshop) who in what very limited spare time I currently have gets to play in my workshop to create bits and bobs for you all to use and enjoy and you get to watch me grow as well.
I suppose my history of how I got here still circles back to my Grandad. He died when I was in my early teens and my passion for woodwork and art hadn’t got its hooks into me just yet. Its’s a wish I have now as an adult; to have had him around just a bit longer so I could have shared that passion with him and learnt from him, especially now as my work has shifted from furniture into more freeform works and carving. He had a real gift for carving. Holy shit he was good. In a world now full of YouTube tutorials and internet How To’s. Cheap Chinese knockoffs and mass produced crap I really would love to sit down with him and learn about him and his life while he gave me pointers in how to carve.