Furniture

I decided last week that it was time to explore a new hobby.

One of the things that has always bothered me about my software development career is that it is just too darn abstract. The work I do only exists inside the computer. If the power goes out, it's as if it never existed. If I want to show someone work I have done recently, I have to bring them to a computer. Something about this has always bugged me. It's as if what I do is imaginary. I realize that my work is generally quite useful to those who use it, and often saves people large amounts of money in more efficient operations. But still, I have an envy for those who create things more concrete. Things.

Somehow, furniture has always intrigued me as something both useful and, at time, graceful and stylish. Furniture is something everyone needs. Furniture is something everyone understands. Furniture is something that lasts. Hopefully. But most importantly, furniture is something you can touch, sit on, sleep on, stand on.... Its real.

Making useful things has always been important to me, and has led me in to the software industry. What's missing to me lately, has been this notion of a concrete solidness to my work.

Furniture seems such an intriguing area, that I feel I should explore it further. I don't have any real woodworking experience, nor much crafts or design experience for that matter. I am completely green, with only curiosity to fuel me.

To document my journey, I have started a separate blog, Concrete Utility. The name describes the two most important aspects of furniture to me. It's certainly far from prose, but I hope it helps me remember what I have learned along the way and to keep track of tips and resources. Maybe it will even help someone else along a similar journey if they somehow come across it.

A new hobby. Just like that.