This post is part of a blog series revealing the table of contents of upcoming Issue Seventeen. As is our custom, we’ll be discussing one article per weekday in order to give you a taste of what is to come.
The subscription window that includes Issue Seventeen is open now.
To get Issue Seventeen when it ships in early October, you can sign up for a subscription here.
If you aren’t sure about your subscription status, you can reach out to Grace at info@mortiseandtenonmag.com. Keep in mind though, if you are set to auto-renew, you never have to worry about getting the next issue of Mortise & Tenon. Issue Seventeen is coming your way soon!
___________________________________
Joshua A. Klein – “Everything in its Place”
Social media trends and our modern penchant for “authenticity” have led to a curious phenomenon: Many woodworkers have started posting photos online to celebrate just how messy their workshops are. Intended to counter the artificial perfection so prevalent on those platforms, the trend brings to light a noteworthy tendency in this day and age – a rejection of the old adage, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” Shop neatness once carried a direct connotation to the perceived quality of a cabinetmaker’s or joiner’s work, and a slovenly workspace pointed to slapdash work, or worse – deficient character. An orderly shop has always been a demonstration of competence.
In Issue Seventeen, Joshua A. Klein draws from a host of historical sources in making the case for a neat and tidy workshop. From the tenets of the apprenticeship system that began a youth’s training with months of sweeping and putting things away, to the anonymously written The Joiner and Cabinet Maker, a book intended to teach moral lessons alongside woodworking ones, Klein shows the historic and practical foundations of being organized and the importance of making a habit of maintaining that organization. He writes, “If we are going to learn anything from the wisdom of our woodworking forebears, we can at the very least see that craftsmanship is rooted in caring.” Care shown in the kind of work we do, and care shown in the shop we keep.
This article may be just the inspiration you need to sweep up, put your tools back in their places, and find your benchtop again. A clean shop is a joy to work in, makes workflow more efficient, and allows you to make the most of the space you have. It reflects a conscientious mindset and genuinely affects the quality of the work accomplished there. Whether your shop is grand or tiny, keeping it well is a satisfying endeavor.
Subscribe now to reserve your copy of Issue Seventeen.