Welkom by
Arbeidsgenot meubels
Custom designed, modern
and contemporary
furniture & kitchens
THE FULL STORY BEHIND ARBEIDSGENOT
Lets start with myself, the owner. I was born in 1978 in Pretoria. My father loved his woodwork and so did my grandfather. I could spend hours watching them work... back in the days before 240 volts replaced good craftsmanship. I also remember how my father used to get me these huge bags full of off-cuts from a local workshop. It kept me busy for days. Soon I became the local gunsmith, issuing all the cowboys & crooks with their wooden artillery. 9 years of woodwork as a school subject followed, which still forms the basics of what I know today.
I finished school in '97 and after 3 years in the IT Trade and 18 months at university studying engineering, I realised that I was born to work with my hands. I took a break and ended up in the UK with a 2-year working holiday visa. Before I knew it I was loaded with a tool belt, hard hat and a high-vis jacket, working as a carpenter (or “chippie” as they call it) on building sites just outside of London. After a few months I promoted myself and applied for a job as cabinetmaker at a furniture company called Isokon Plus in Chiswick, London. (I've worked 2 weeks for peanuts just to convince the owner to offer me a job without any formal workshop experience.)
And that is more or less where everything started...
For the first time in my life I experienced real job satisfaction... myth busted! I was slurping up every little opportunity that came my way, developing my talent while making fine furniture from designers like Marcel Breuer. My hobby was changing into a full time career.
2005 brought an end to my working holiday in the UK and, back in George, the beginning of Arbeidsgenot (literally meaning “labour + joy”).
While trying to run a successful company I often end up doing a lot of very commercial style furniture or even screwing some chipboard together just to keep the cash flow going, but the passion is still found in designing a brand new piece from start and pouring a bit of your soul into it on the journey to the end. That satisfaction at the end of the line, when you take a step back, just slipping away between the grain of the wood and every joint that weighed up your talent; always remembering where you got these talents from... He was also a Craftsman by trade.
BUT IS IT ART?
I suppose there might be a difference between furniture and art.
The aim is to create it so that you can't see the difference.
I finished school in '97 and after 3 years in the IT Trade and 18 months at university studying engineering, I realised that I was born to work with my hands. I took a break and ended up in the UK with a 2-year working holiday visa. Before I knew it I was loaded with a tool belt, hard hat and a high-vis jacket, working as a carpenter (or “chippie” as they call it) on building sites just outside of London. After a few months I promoted myself and applied for a job as cabinetmaker at a furniture company called Isokon Plus in Chiswick, London. (I've worked 2 weeks for peanuts just to convince the owner to offer me a job without any formal workshop experience.)
And that is more or less where everything started...
For the first time in my life I experienced real job satisfaction... myth busted! I was slurping up every little opportunity that came my way, developing my talent while making fine furniture from designers like Marcel Breuer. My hobby was changing into a full time career.
2005 brought an end to my working holiday in the UK and, back in George, the beginning of Arbeidsgenot (literally meaning “labour + joy”).
While trying to run a successful company I often end up doing a lot of very commercial style furniture or even screwing some chipboard together just to keep the cash flow going, but the passion is still found in designing a brand new piece from start and pouring a bit of your soul into it on the journey to the end. That satisfaction at the end of the line, when you take a step back, just slipping away between the grain of the wood and every joint that weighed up your talent; always remembering where you got these talents from... He was also a Craftsman by trade.
BUT IS IT ART?
I suppose there might be a difference between furniture and art.
The aim is to create it so that you can't see the difference.
