WooDream, Bucharest: From photography, to furniture production, from a passion for aesthetics

Relu Draghici: "For most of our acquaintances, the transition from photography to furniture design seems illogical, but for me it's not, it's just another way of expressing my creativity." (INTERVIEW)

Relu Drăghici, a professional photographer, has discovered that he can also express his creativity through woodworking. He found common ground between photography and furniture production and started to bring solid wood to life with Felder machines.

Relu Drăghici you recognize from the cover Catalogue of autumn 2019 special offers of Felder Gruppe Romania. And, if you were at BIFE-SIM this year, you've certainly seen him at the Felder Gruppe Romania booths doing tests and demonstrations of machine work.

But not only Relu Drăghici did this.

And Gheorghe Predescu, one of Felder Gruppe Romania's longest-standing customers, has been spending his birthday with the Felder Gruppe Romania team at BIFE-SIM since 2007, giving demonstrations to visitors at the stand.

And Krishan Fares, Felder's biggest fan, doesn't miss a year of BIFE-SIM without demonstrating the machines.

Coming back to Relu Drăghici, here's how the WooDream story began, how a professional photographer got into making furniture.

INTERVIEW Felder Gruppe Romania: Relu Drăghici, WooDream, Bucharest

How did you get into this field? Where did the passion for furniture come from?

Relu Draghici: Although my professional training is as an economist, I have actually done very little work in this field. I have discovered over time that I actually find much more satisfaction from creative activities. More than 10 years ago I discovered a passion for photography which has turned into a way of life and a core activity. For most of our acquaintances, the transition from photography to furniture making seems nonsensical, but for me it is not, it is just another way of expressing my creativity, of transforming and composing visually appealing things out of less aesthetically pleasing elements. Ultimately it's also about aesthetics and there are even common technical principles, such as the rule of thirds often applied in photography, but also in architecture. Incidentally, I know there are several colleagues who have discovered a passion for working with wood.

What exactly do you produce?

Relu Drăghici: We want to produce only wooden furniture, but we admit that we have not turned down projects made of MDF, which is also processed according to classical methods and then painted. At the moment our production volume is not high, especially since we work only with ourselves and we are still working quite extensively in photography, we do not rush things, we let them evolve naturally.

What was the first piece of furniture you made?

Relu Draghici: In the studio I set up at home, the first piece of furniture I created was a project - certainly ambitious for my level at the time - a dressing table for my wife. I fondly remember showing her the project and she looked at me in disbelief, arguing (justifiably) that I hadn't made a banal box yet, how could I attack such an ambitious project!? In the end, it turned out quite well, the table she still uses with pleasure.

How did you come to work with Felder Gruppe Romania?

Relu Draghici: When we decided to do this professionally, the first company we turned to was Felder Gruppe Romania. From previous research we had learned that Felder is one of the most respected manufacturers of woodworking equipment, so we went there to discover their offerings. What's worth mentioning is that we didn't even get around to researching other manufacturers' offerings! There's something about the atmosphere there that makes you feel like you become part of a family, not just a seller-buyer relationship. This is what we felt from the first meetings and it was confirmed by the following events. Coming from a field where the personal relationship with the customer is extremely important, we appreciate very much when we find the transparency, openness and warmth that we try to offer to our customers and that we found at Felder Gruppe Romania!

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Read the full interview here. Relu talks about the first piece of furniture he made for his wife, how Felder machines help him in production, and his plans for the future.

The interview with Relu Drăghici is part of the Felder stories campaign that you can read here.