Standing on the shoulders of giants

I've made a few things in my time, vinyl records, radio shows, on the airwaves, arty stuff in galleries, photographs, letterpress stuff etc etc, but I've always had this feeling that it's not quite the making of real stuff.  What real stuff is is obviously open to debate, but these video's by Anne Holiday nudged my thoughts in what feels like the right direction.  Is the collection of over 60 chisels the sign of a real maker, or the sign of an obsessive collector/hoarder? I think it's a sign that Norman, who features in the woodworker film, cares a lot about the thing he has spent his spare time working on.  Maybe makers, when they start out, all feel like me, and time spent doing and making is the thing that separates the real makers from the fakers.  Or maybe it doesn't matter that someone only has one chisel and uses it only a couple of times.

The makers of things

Who we are is intrinsically connected to what we do and the things we build. So what does a lifetime of making things look like? The Makers of Things - a short film collection by Anne Hollowday - documents the work and workshops of the Society for Model and Experimental Engineers, a sprawling organisation with members all over the world. Their common tools and methods mask a huge array of interests and skills, from experimental tinkerers to woodworkers and librarians, all brought together under the roof of their South London headquarters. The Woodworker Norman Billingham's workshop has been pulled up around him over a lifetime. Chippings, clippings and filings fill a garage used to transform lumps of wood into beautiful pens and functional furniture. Although a scientist by training, Norman is the first to admit he's always been a maker of things. See the remaining three films in the collection here: http://themakersofthings.co.uk/