You gotta have soul
Three lessons on life and work from a traditional English stick maker.
In the early chill of Saturday morning, I found myself at a local food festival. My wife (Beth Goudie) was playing a set, so as she setup I wandered around the various stalls and tents. Basket makers, pie makers, cheese makers; the scene was as old as trade itself. People coming together and selling something that they have made with their own hands.
I came across a tent stacked with oiled wooden boards and walking sticks of every size and description. The gentleman behind the table, with his flat-cap and leather apron, spoke with affection about each piece of his work. Every piece of wood carried a story, both natural and personal. Alexander is a man who loves his craft.
I love talking to makers; especially when I know nothing about their field. Learning something of the nuances of their craft connects me with a bigger story than my own experience. I recently spoke to a guitar maker who gave me advice that wouldn’t have changed in the last 100 years, and even beyond.
Here are three lessons from a traditional English walking stick maker that you can apply to your own work, whatever you do:
1. The strength is in the seasoning
For the stick maker, the battle is won or lost before he even starts carving. The quality of his eventual work relies on a strong starting point.
“Seasoning is the difference between a stick and a shank. One you put on the fire, one you can use to walk with.”
Seasoning is a process of drying out the wood in a controlled way. The wood strengthens as it changes structure from it’s initial ‘green’ form. Alexander coppices the wood himself, choosing each piece. He showed me a stick he was working on with an owl’s face carved around a knot. His early decisions defined the piece. If he chooses a weak piece of wood, poorly seasoned, and full of holes, that stick is destined for the fire.
Your idea is your starting point. As you choose which one to work on, make sure it is strong before you start. Spend time ‘seasoning’ it. This needn’t take weeks, or even days. Simply take an hour before you start your next project to test the idea for weaknesses, and make it stronger. It doesn’t need to be perfect, you’ll be ‘carving’ later, but you will have a considered purpose to work from, and will therefore create better work.
2. Trade in value, not worth.
On the table at the front of the stall was a beautiful piece of 6000 year old bogwood. A gentleman had left the wood in in his loft for the past 20 years, waiting to do something with it.
Alexander told me the cost of the bogwood compared to the two sticks he traded for it. However, he also explained the efficacy of the trade. Neither man had to part with any money in this transaction. Both held something of value to the other, but not to themselves. This was a trade of value, not worth.
What do you need right now to complete your next piece of work? What can you trade to get it? You have skills or a resource that someone else will value. Trades should not be based on monetary worth, but on the value each partner in the transaction assigns. The markup on our time is artificial, and our daily rates can be flexible.
Trading with other people is far more rewarding than spending money. You contribute to each other’s story, and therefore become richer.
3. Put your soul into it
The longer I looked over the sticks and chopping boards at the stall, the more I knew about Alexander. From the live edge of an oiled piece of chestnut, to the glass eyes of a carved slow worm handle; he spoke through his work. His reputation and style is what keeps people coming back to him, and recommending his work. The unique character of a ‘Huxley Stick’ is that of the man who made them.
“You have to put your soul into your work. That’s what people want to buy”
He explained to me that people buy work that shows the soul of the maker. They want to connect with something real, especially in the age of perfectly machined glass screens.
Soul is the mark of the maker. It is the product of hundreds of choices in the process, all our experience, and even our mistakes. It is the mark of a human being proving their existence.
On your next project, look beyond what other people are doing. Look beyond perfection. Instead look into what makes you unique, and what that means for your work. Do things in a way that makes sense to you first, and then seek advice later. Only you can create your work.
Don’t worry about ‘getting it right’. Perfection is a fallacy in creative work. Instead aim to produce a piece of work that only you could have created.
Show some soul.
There are few real divisions in the fields of creativity. The details and practical application may be different, but the essence is always the same.
Next time you meet anyone who makes something, ask them to share something they’ve learnt. The answers are always fascinating, and you will find practical wisdom that you can apply to your own work.
Making things is hard. That’s why I’m writing a practical guide to overcoming the obstacles that stand between you and your life’s work.
Coming early 2017. Subscribe to the mailing list to be notified when it’s available
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