(This post was inspired by a conversation had recently while hewing a timber.) When Henry David Thoreau built his little cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, he borrowed an axe and started chopping down standing pines at the end of March. By mid-April, Thoreau, a woodworker with average competence and limited experience, had hewn his timbers, cut the joinery, and made ready for the raising. And in his words, “I made no haste in my work, but rather made the most of it.” Thoreau was endlessly distractible, pursuing clouds and ants and loons in the pond, so one can imagine his workdays being less than rigidly scheduled. And yet, the pines became 6x6 posts, studs, and rafters in just...
“When this old world starts getting me down, And people are just too much for me to face— I climb way up to the top of the [ladder] And all my cares just drift right into space ...” Our seasonal work schedule here at M&T somehow makes use of the most pleasant and comfortable times of the year for decidedly indoor tasks, like seeking image permissions from European museums or copy-editing articles. We have limited open slots on the calendar to pursue the lengthy list of construction projects going on – restoring sash windows, beginning work on the House Project, taking down and saving some random barn that was in danger of falling over. For whatever reason, it seems like...
I didn’t know what to say. I was there because I knew that Another Work is Possible was selected as a finalist for “Excellence in Publishing,” but I never expected to hear my name announced as the winner. The 2021 Maine Literary Awards took place last Thursday evening, and I am still in disbelief. My first book, Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847), was a finalist at the 2019 ceremony, but ultimately not the winner. I felt honored to even be a finalist in 2019 and was content with that achievement again this year. Regardless of the fact that I knew it was still a possibility my book would be selected this time around, there was...
At Mortise & Tenon headquarters here on the coast of Maine, the biggest event of 2019 took place in August, when an international team of carpenters hewed and raised a timber frame for a blacksmith shop in just nine days. This project saw the transformation of the M&T workshop into a dining area for 50, the woods behind the shop rang with the resounding song of axes on fresh timber, and for Joshua Klein, the theoretical limits of what is possible to achieve with simple hand tools changed dramatically.
Today is the last day to order the Another Work is Possible book-and-film bundle for the discounted rate of $63. Starting tomorrow, Saturday, Feb 1st, the only option to purchase these products will be as individual items at full price. You can order them individually now at these links below: The book alone is $50. The film alone is $25 Mike and I wrapped up copy reading the book this afternoon, and it’s going out to the printer on Monday morning. We are so proud of everyone that helped put this book together, and know that if you are into what we publish in the magazine, this book will be right up your alley. We thank you...
Earlier this year, graphic designer Adam Spitalny reached out offering to take me under his wing to teach me more about design. It was an easy sell because I had been waiting for just the right person connect with for this very thing. I knew I wanted to grow in these skills, but didn’t know where to begin. Adam and I began working together right away, with our sights set on to refining my workflow and layout strategy. He sensed that I had a clear vision for what I wanted, but saw where I could grow in ways that would enable me to better achieve my aim. With these lessons from Adam I’ve been learning more efficient ways to use...
From the earliest stages of planning the Carpenters Without Borders project, I almost knew I’d be writing a book all about it. It was sure to be too unique a thing not to share with our readers. I wanted as many people to experience hand hewing, joining, and raising a frame as possible. But as I started planning the book, I knew words alone would never be able to capture the thud of the axes on the logs or the graceful movements of skilled hands at work. This is the kind of thing you need to see for yourself. So we started pondering what a film documentary would look like alongside the book, but we knew right away that...
This has been an insanely busy season for me. This past September, soon after Charpentiers Sans Frontières (CSF) left our place after constructing our hand-hewn blacksmith shop, I hit the ground running to write and organize the book that captured all that was bursting inside my mind. I had been studying and reflecting on the value of manual craft work for a long while before the project, but when this team of carpenters arrived and set to work, I realized that I was witnessing one of the most powerful examples of it I’d ever seen. Watching 35 carpenters from all over the world hew freshly felled logs into timbers, then joining and raising them with nothing more than the strength of...
The moment has finally come! Starting right now, we’re kicking off the “Another Work is Possible” book pre-order and film release as a bundled package at a discounted rate of $63. This offer will be good for two weeks – January 17th - 31st. After that these products will only be sold separately for full price: the book is $50 and the film is $25.
Get your popcorn buttered and your pastis poured… the film is now available for immediate streaming and download. The book will be shipping out near the end of March.
You can now order your copy of the book and film here.
Enjoy, my friends!
– Joshua
For those of you that have been asking for details about ordering this book and film, this announcement is for you: We’re going to be kicking off the first two weeks of the Another Work is Possible book pre-order and film release as a bundled package for a discounted rate of $63.00. This offer will be good for two weeks – January 17th-31st. After that time, these products will only be sold separately for their full price: the book is $50 and the film is $25. When can you order? Well, because we miss those crazy midnight releases we used to do, we’ve decided to open orders at 12:00 a.m. Eastern time zone on January 17th. This means that you...
