On Saturday 20 January 2024, Revista din Lemn will participate in the first meeting of this year with carpenters, organized in Sibiu by Oak Tower. At this edition, which will take place in the workshop of Mihai Ursu (Creative Bear), the organisers want to create an environment for discussion about current challenges in the field, solutions and plans for the future. I have been invited to the event as a specialist in finishing wood and wood-based panels, so in addition to the above topics, there will also be discussions on how and with what we protect wood so that it is resistant to different conditions, but also pleasing in appearance. Revista din Lemn aims to participate in as many of these meetings as possible this year, in events held in Bucharest and around the country, with the intention of growing and strengthening the community already formed.
Who is the Oak Tower
For those who don't know, the Oak Tower means Fane Pănăzan and Mihai Ursu. It was created as a physical and virtual space for learning, sharing, education, but also for meetings and discussions related to the craft and trying a wood business. Fane is well known in the carpentry community being often challenged to show his skill in sharpening chisels and planers so that the cut wood is so thin you can read the newspaper through it. We have written extensively about him here.
Mihai - younger, more reserved and expensive to talk to - is less known. His passion for wood and his desire to get better and better, I think he deserves to be known. The wood bug got him as a child, when he lived with his father and grandfather in a small workshop near the block where they lived. While they worked on various wooden objects to order, little Michael spoil nails and wood. He was 10 years old when the workshop was closed, but the bug had already entered his bloodstream.
Years later, when her daughter was born, she took parental leave. That year she made a rocking chair, a swing and a small sand playground for the little girl. The pleasure he took in making the items prompted him to think about a personal wood-related business. That's how Creative Bear was born. He has always had his wife by his side as a partner and supporter, and she is responsible for everything that means papers business-related. And in order to improve his theoretical knowledge, Mihai also enrolled in the Faculty of Furniture Design and Wood Engineering in Brasov.
Fane she knew from the Carpenters group. Mihai was the one who broke the ice. He called him one day to ask if he could help him straighten some oak cabinets. Then we started visiting each other at the workshop for coffee. After a few coffees they realized they had the same way of looking at wood and woodworking. Thus began the collaboration that led to the Oak Tower.
According to the organisers, the event has sparked interest in the guild
I spoke to Mihai these days and I understand that 18 people will attend the meeting. There were a lot more people who wanted to attend, but the limited space in the workshop meant that the number of participants was limited. He was pleasantly impressed that only one Facebook post, on December 18, had generated so much interest.
The event is aimed at both experienced and novice carpenters. The intention is to create links between members of the guild, to provoke open debate on topical issues, to create opportunities for collaboration, exchange of ideas, joint projects.
As I said, we will be there on 20 January to participate in the discussions, but also to bring you information from inside the guild. So don't stray too far because written and video material will follow. 🙂
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