How was the meeting with the carpenters in Sibiu

I announced the other day that on January 20, in Sibiu, Fane Pănăzan and Mihai Ursu (Oak Tower) organised a meeting with carpenters to which Wood Magazine was invited. The event was very successful, in our view, because it created the environment for discussions about the craft, the problems and trials of a wood business, it brought together experienced people and beginners, carpenters and hobbyists. Of the 16 participants 8 have their own workshops, the rest are in the process of opening one or just passionate about woodworking. The discussions covered all sorts of topics so everyone found their place. We hope that the meeting will be just the beginning and that there will be more and more events like this in different cities around the country. We promise that if we are invited, we will do our best to be with you.

A day started with emotions

The plan from the beginning was to leave for Sibiu on Saturday morning. Returning from Cologne fair was set for the early hours of Friday, so I had little choice. Friday was a beautiful day in Bucharest, with sunshine and 14°C in the thermometers, so we didn't worry. We did, however, set off for Sibiu at 6am to make sure we arrived on time. But in the morning it was snowing like in a fairy tale, and the snow had settled on a layer of ice because it had rained heavily in the evening. So our plan was thrown into disarray.

We left determined, although the car was a bit dance on the road. On the motorway I saw asphalt only near Pitesti. The snow on the ground, the snow drifts and the poor visibility slowed us down a lot. Fortunately, we were moving forward, unlike those on the other side of the road where a lorry was sitting on the side of the road. We got rid of the fear of being stopped by such an event only at Pitesti, where the weather had improved considerably. But the whole adventure ended with a delay of almost 2 hours.

Socialising, exchange of ideas, personal experiences, raffle

Once we arrived we tried to join the discussions on the fly so as not to disturb too much. We missed the beginning part with the presentations of the participants, but we did not insist on replaying them in order not to lose time dedicated to the discussions. We also introduced ourselves briefly, telling about our presence for more than 25 years in the wood industry and the creation of the Wood Magazine almost 8 years ago.

Discussions touched on a wide range of topics: where to buy wood, native species, ways of processing, tools, sanding materials, ways of protecting and finishing wood, how to be better at what you do, niche activities and products, participation in international fairs, personal experiences. It was a real pleasure to see how people are eager to learn from other people's experience, how they participate in discussions without inhibitions.

There were many great moments that I hope to be able to present in a video about the event soon. I would like to mention just two of them. Daniel Szekely (Apprentice Daniwho I met at nZEB goes Passive from Cluj) who brought a collection of native wood species that was highly appreciated, both for the wood and for the way it looked. Daniel, a forestry graduate, has two passions, wood and bookbinding. As a result, the collection was presented as an impressively well-made book. It brought me some woodincluding a piece of edible chestnut. All the wood species in the collection were collected and processed by Daniel.

Another interesting episode came from one of the participants. The lady worked for a while in France where she attended a carpentry school. She told us about the learning process, the practice there, having a lot of wood so they could make mistakes and learn, the role of the teachers, the costs of such a course. He returned home with a plan to use the knowledge gained to open a carpentry workshop with an associate. He came to the meeting eager to find out as much as possible about what this would entail.

At the end of the meeting there was also a raffle where, by drawing lots, everyone won a small item offered by the company Wood-Mizer. We thank them in this way.

A first meeting that pleasantly surprised me in many ways

The first pleasant surprise was the large number of participants and their seriousness. From experience I know that if they don't have to pay to attend an event, many drop out without telling the organiser. For the meeting in Sibiu, 18 participants registered in December, before the holidays. There were several applications, but they were unable to attend due to lack of space. There were very few who dropped out and from Mihai's words I understand they had serious reasons.

Another surprise was the interest and the variety of topics covered. I thought that being about social media, without a woodworking theme like how to make a specific joint or how to dry wood to avoid problems, interest will not be great and gso it will break quickly. It didn't, as the discussions went on until late.

The experience shared, the advice, the recommendations, the willingness to associate were other aspects that pleasantly surprised me. It seems that slowly community members understand that together problems can be solved faster and better.

The conclusion is that it was a good meeting. Of course, after it was over, Fane and Mihai thought that some things should have been done differently or that other topics should have been addressed. But that's just the pilot episode, and the show is just beginning. 🙂