Credit: Thibaut Malet
Do you remember the last time you made something from wood just purely for fun? The type of woodworker you decide to be is defined by the things you choose to make. So while building fine furniture, and framing houses, and making cabinetry is important— it can become just another job. Bringing a sense of playfulness to these type of tasks is not impossible, but it’s a little more challenging.
There’s a lesson for all of us woodworkers to be learned from someone like French designer & woodworker Thibaut Malet. It’s hard not to look at his portfolio of work and smile. He designs and makes objects and toys that bring pure joy and delight.
Credit: Thibaut Malet
Malet graduated from Montpellier’s Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques in 2010, and began his career in the field of architecture. However he soon realised that sitting at a desk wasn’t for him. He missed the craft of woodworking. He had been surrounded by woodworking growing up with both his grandfather and father being carpenters. So he returned to his workshop to learn the woodworking craft. Today Thibaut and his brother carry on the family tradition.
Malet says his work is inspired by the small wooden things he made as a child. I can honestly think of no greater inspiration than the child version of yourself. Most of us made ramps for bikes and skateboards, small cars, toy swords, and various other things from wood as kids. Do you remember what that excitement was like, and how much fun you had? That is a life well lived right there.
Credit: Thibaut Malet
To many people there’s no good reason to make a wooden animals. But when they turn out as well crafted and beautiful as Thibaut’s are, it is well worth the effort. This kind of work brings joy to the maker as well as the end user. Not many people can say their portfolio of work features spinning tops, and wooden animals. If a three-year-old, and a thirty-three-year-old can appreciate your work equally, you know you’re doing something right.
Credit: Thibaut Malet
Why do we woodwork? Is it to keep our heads down, and work flat out all the while worrying about profit margins? Or should we embrace how much fun woodworking can be every once in a while and make stuff purely for fun? With the pressures and stresses that come with modern day life, the latter can be a challenge. But if we can’t do it every so often, what’s the point?
To find out more;
https://www.thibautmalet.com
https://www.instagram.com/thibautmaletstudio/
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