Why We Make Things and Why It Matters

The Education of a Craftsman

De: Peter Korn

Narrado por: Traber Burns

In this moving account, Peter Korn explores the nature and rewards of creative practice. We follow his search for meaning as an Ivy-educated child of the middle class who finds employment as a novice carpenter on Nantucket, transitions to self-employment as a designer and maker of fine furniture, takes a turn at teaching and administration at Colorado's Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and then founds a school in Maine: the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, an internationally respected nonprofit institution.

Furniture making practiced as a craft in the 21st century is a decidedly marginal occupation. Yet the view from the periphery can be illuminating. For Korn the challenging work of bringing something new and meaningful into the world through one's own volition—whether in the arts, the kitchen, or the marketplace—is what generates the meaning and fulfillment that so many of us seek.

This is not a how-to book in any sense. Korn wants to get at the why of craft in particular and the satisfactions of creative work in general to understand their essential nature. How does the making of objects shape our identities? How do the products of creative work inform society? In short, what does the process of making things reveal to us about ourselves? Korn draws on four decades of hands-on experience to answer these questions eloquently, and often poignantly, in this personal, introspective, and revealing book.

©2013 Peter Korn (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Annoying

This book annoyed me.

It would have annoyed me less if the "We" in the title was changed to the "I" that it should have been. Then I wouldn't have touched it with a bargepole.

I make things and am going to flatter myself that this gives me at least the right to hold an opinion.

One of the advantages that I have discovered of making things is that it brings me more into contact with other people who make things and , my experience is, that we all do it for different reasons.

This guy appears to do it because it lets him adopt a superior view of his own importance. I do it because it lets me avoid having to deal with people who adopt a superior view of their own importance. And because I can spend all day listening to audiobooks.

For every maker out there, there is a mix of reasons for the choice. This book, despite the "we" of the title, is interest in just one of them. And it is one of the less interesting ones.

I didn't expect woodworking but I think I hoped for something just a bit less self centred and pompous

Making Things...

Mr Korn chronicles his woodworking career in biographical form while asserting the value of artistic creation & finishing the timetable with the altruistic generation of a non-profit school for furniture makers. As a dabbling woodworker myself, I enjoyed this effort of explanation of why we make things, it seemed a bit narrow in scope, solely biographical, and thus less rewarding for me, because the term "things" encompasses a much greater genre than handicraft. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it far more if the reference photos could be included as a .pdf file to the audiobook.

More autobiography than I was expecting

I chose this book thinking it was going to be a philosophical look at why people create things. Instead it was an autobiographical look at one person’s journey that included his woodworking craft. Just not the book I was hoping it would be.

Finally a working book for people who think why

If you could sum up Why We Make Things and Why It Matters in three words, what would they be?

Woodworking soul food

Any additional comments?

Finally a woodworking book that translate into an audible book. I enjoyed every word of this adventure. It is about Peter Korn but I am glad I was able to peek into his path. If making things is more than the sum of their parts to you, this is a great book.

Really great

For anyone creative. From the angle of a furniture maker but lots of good info. Highly recommended!

This book spoke to my spirit

Definitely worth your time. Wow. The author articulates things that I didn’t know were inside of me but when he said them my heart leapt in agreement.

I intend to listen to this regularly.

Great read

Overall great read. I came away inspired with fresh perspective. Can’t wait to give it a reread

Liked ideas, but didn't land for me

I really liked some of the ideas stated, but I left the book feeling like he was preaching to the choir a bit. Maybe that's unfair, but I feel like framing so much of it specifically through the woodworking and why he chose it / what it gave him really narrowed his larger points down too much. He referenced other books and discussions of the idea and I wish he expanded on those ideas more after framing his own experiences but it just left me wanting. Or at least wanting to go read some of the people he referenced to see if the hit home for me more

Good read

This is a great autobiography of a craftsman who has inspired many others to pursue their passions.

Crafty

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It's short, it's informative, and it's reflective.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way this person found his vocation and spoke so admirably about that which he loved (in this case woodworking). There's nothing more wonderful than listening to a person speak about that which they are passionate about. I also found that him feeling lost in the world and coming to this hobby without expectations to become an expert was a wise attitude.

Have you listened to any of Traber Burns’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, I am sorry. I will in the future.

Any additional comments?

Because I enjoyed this books so much I got Nick Offerman's Clean Good Fun and the Canoe audiobook. I didn't know how much I enjoyed men talk about woodshops until I discovered this book at a daily deal.