{"id":1327,"date":"2015-06-24T16:24:05","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T06:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handkrafted.com/blog\/?p=1327"},"modified":"2015-08-09T11:13:30","modified_gmt":"2015-08-09T01:13:30","slug":"douglas-fir-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handkrafted.com/blog\/douglas-fir-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Douglas Fir Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

Literate with\u00a0using his hands and tools\u00a0since youth, multi-talented Melbourne maker\u00a0Patrick Holcombe of Douglas Fir Design (thankfully)\u00a0reverted to his timber-loving roots as an adult. \u00a0Steph divulges\u00a0the\u00a0self-proclaimed ‘creative timber-smith and very useful man’s’\u00a0personal tale.<\/em>
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Patrick Holcombe of Douglas Fir Design<\/a> literally grew up in the house that dad built\u2026and the house built Patrick \u2013 in a sense \u2013 to become a self-sufficient, passionate, Melbourne maker and woodworker.<\/p>\n

In Kinglake VIC, Patrick\u2019s father built a large rustic home for his family from scratch using mud bricks and recycled Oregon timber that he and some friends collected from an old, demolished school hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad started on the house long before I was born and kept going on it long after I was born,\u201d Patrick recalled. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t a builder by trade; he was an English teacher. But, he created beautiful things from timber and passed those skills to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick could always be found in his dad\u2019s huge workshop as a kid. Rather than buying gifts for family members, the pair would make birthday presents out of wood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was literate with tools and using my hands,\u201d Patrick said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Melbourne<\/a>For a time, Patrick pursued a degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, but found it did not satiate his thirst for hands-on work. Today, remnants of his studies factor strongly in his preference for recycled timber and sustainable materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really conscious of trying to be as good with that stuff as I can,\u201d he confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd also, there\u2019s so much character in recycled material. Often with a recycled piece of timber, I\u2019ll have to work around its previous life. I\u2019ll have to build a feature of its old life into the new piece, which takes me places I wouldn\u2019t have necessarily gone.\u201d\"Melbourne<\/a>When the tragic Kinglake bushfires burnt down his beloved family home in 2009, Patrick dropped his studies and took to rebuilding straightaway. Through the destruction, Pat reclaimed the hands-on work he cherished and carved out a new path to follow.<\/p>\n

He built furnishings for the home and people took notice. Requests started flooding in and Patrick realised he could earn decent money from starting a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the kind of person who built things anyway, so the transition just sort of happened naturally to do it on a more professional basis,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Melbourne<\/a>Patrick epitomises the self-taught maker. He never spent any time studying furniture making. But, he perceives this as an advantage instead of a hindrance. Everything for him comes down to experimentation, intent willingness to learn, and trial and error.<\/p>\n

He embraces whatever projects someone throws his direction, and tackles them as hurdles to overcome. He described it as \u2018kind of like going to university again\u2019 because entering unfamiliar furniture making territory demands he adds new skills to his repertoire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to take really diverse jobs because every new piece I do I learn something new: a new tool, a new technique,\u201d he commented. \u201cI\u2019m happy to give it a shot because I learn something I would not have learned otherwise.\u201d\"Melbourne<\/a>\u201cHandkrafted <\/a>has been fantastic for me because it really suits the way that I work,\u201d Patrick continued. \u201cWhen someone approaches me with an idea, it forces me to try all kinds of new and different things, and I get to work really closely with the client. It\u2019s really collaborative and creative for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick appreciates the beauty of exposed joints and dowels, uses salvaged materials whenever possible, and emphasises showcasing timber in its natural form.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really appreciate in furniture is when the method in which it is built is used as a design feature,\u201d he remarked. \u201cBecause I enjoy the process of creating pieces, I really love it when a customer can also see that and appreciate how it\u2019s been done. I feel like there\u2019s a real beauty in making something as simple as it can be.\u201d\"MelbourneGiven the house he grew up in, Patrick\u2019s always had a real affinity to the way Oregon timber smells and looks. But, he noted, Oregon\u2019s only suited to heavy, big, rough furniture \u2013 like this couch<\/a>, one of his favourite, most challenging pieces so far \u2013 created from support beams of an old Eltham home.<\/p>\n

He wanted to complete a piece like this ever since he started building furniture, he said. The timber was so massive that Patrick had to do all of the initial work on it outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t take an existing design and just make it from Oregon,\u201d Patrick explained. \u201cIt’s too soft and has too much grain character so it really creates a class of its own.\u201d\"Melbourne<\/a>This upcoming year, Patrick aspires to add to his encounters with the unexpected and turn these into insightful experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually so unknown. That\u2019s what I love about furniture making,\u201d Patrick remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I\u2019m busy and get to do fun things and create pieces that I\u2019m really proud of, then that\u2019s all I ask.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI want to be doing new stuff all the time, and that\u2019s one of the great things I love about Handkrafted,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m able to build stuff that I\u2019ve never even heard of, and that\u2019s worked perfectly for me.\u201d\"Melbourne<\/a>Photography by Hilary Walker<\/a><\/p>\n

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About Handkrafted:<\/em><\/p>\n

Handkrafted <\/a>has brought together Australia\u2019s most comprehensive community\u00a0of independent bespoke furniture makers. With over 200 craftspeople available,\u00a0we will match you to\u00a0the right maker for your custom furniture project.<\/em><\/p>\n

Commissioning a piece of furniture through Handkrafted is a unique and fulfilling experience. Support local makers and\u00a0kickstart<\/a>\u00a0your own project today.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Literate with\u00a0using his hands and tools\u00a0since youth, multi-talented Melbourne maker\u00a0Patrick Holcombe of Douglas Fir Design (thankfully)\u00a0reverted to his timber-loving…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet-the-maker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t