A Book I Enjoyed

I don't really like the term "Thinking outside the box" so I won't say that this book is one of those books that makes you do that but, really, it does. Upcycling, recycling, restoration, innovation and much more are all encapsulated here in a book I enjoyed looking through and reading. I thought that you might too. Asa Christiana was a longterm former editor of the US Taunton Press magazine Fine Woodworking with a background in journalism and now freelances as a writer and maker. The book is not so much about him and his work and nor is it at all about fine woodworking. It's more about eclectics than inventors and presents more an eclectic gathering of eclectic makers working in different fields to take what exists as usable or useful in one realm to upcycle or develop alternatives from something that already exists for use in other realms. I just like the idea of alternative options using the existing. Neat!

So it seems as much less about woodworking than nudging the reader into taking an item and reconsidering its functionality to adapt it for use elsewhere. A leather belt or stuff holder came from new leather, not too innovative, but a series of vintage and perhaps otherwise rejected carry-on sized vintage cases became unique hi-fi boomboxes replete with carrying handles that anyone can make. That I liked! From leaf pictures framed and glazed to concrete topped garden tables or a range of indoor lamps from Kilner (Mason too) jars and copper piping, you can enjoy a trip into new realms of making to complement your woodworking and decorating.

I enjoyed this book which parallels the current trend to furnish and make from scraps what otherwise might never exist. On the one hand you make something with value added and on the other add comfort and restfulness to a log stump were neither chair nor stump would do either without the innovation. Well worth thinking about.