We can improve our own taste and judgment by studying good work wherever we find it, in shop windows, exhibitions, museums, or illustrated in the pages of books, just as we can improve our own skill by thoughtful, intelligent practice and in taking instruction in whatever direction we may need it.
For there is so much to be done, there are going to be so many busy years ahead for all of us, that the man who is ready to plan and work now to achieve later the thing he longs for, whether it is a small business or a beautifully equipped home of his own, is the man who will be equal to the hour when it comes.
— The Woodworker, January 1947
My favorite excerpt to date – it reminds me of when I was in Boston over the summer, walking down Newbury Street. I came upon a trendy clothes store called Allsaints Spitalfields (they sell jeans for $160) that had its front windows filled with antique sewing machines. I went inside to investigate, where interestingly (and sadly) I found that their sales tables were all antique workbenches (!!!) of Holzapffel-type construction. I spoke with the saleswoman who mentioned that the benches were all imported from England, from an old sewing machine factory, hence the sewing machines in the store window. Several had their 2" square planing stops still in the bench, albeit flush with the benchtop, which still moved up & down nicely. It was when I broke out my cell phone camera to snap a couple photos that a store manager became slightly hysterical and asked me to leave. So much for "studying good work"!
Wow, that phrase about someone "who is ready to plan and work now to acheive later the thing he longs for" could be applied to almost anything of real meaning that we hope to achieve. Thanks.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I read this and have spent most of the day trying to thing of a reply worthy of the excerpt. Greg and Christopher have done it for me.
Perfect.
Richard
Man I love these quotes! Thank you Chris for taking the time to find them, read them, and posting them!! I’m sure I’m not the only one to like it!
OT… do you ever come up to western Canada for some work shops?
Cheers
David