My four year old asked me why I make boxes for a living

I was in the shop yesterday, finishing a custom vanity for a client in Portland, and my kid wandered in. She looked at the piece, then up at me, and said, 'Daddy, you just make fancy boxes all day?' I laughed at first, but it stuck with me all evening. I've been in this trade for fifteen years, calling it cabinetry, millwork, fine woodworking. But she's not wrong. At its core, that's what we do. We solve problems of space and function, but we make them beautiful, strong, and last a lifetime. That simple question from a preschooler made me appreciate the pure, honest craft of it in a way I haven't in a long time. Has a simple comment from a non-cabinetmaker ever made you see your own work differently?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron85420d ago

Kids really do cut right to the point, huh.

rowan_wells3020d ago

Portland is a long way to go for a vanity. @emmam89 has a point about the shipping stress being a whole other layer to the job. The box has to be a tank, not just look nice. Kids just see the cool sink, but the real work is making sure it gets there in one piece. That part is never simple.

emmam8920d ago

Wait, you ship a custom vanity all the way to Portland? That's a huge job. @aaron854 is right, kids see the simple truth. But honestly, the shipping alone on that piece would give me nightmares. Makes the whole "fancy box" thing even more real. It has to be a perfect box that survives a cross-country trip.