Hi, I'm Annabelle and I make things. From wood. You can too. I'm a self taught woodworker - I dipped my toes into woodworking several years ago and instantly fell in love. I never actually considered myself to be a creative person. I was always drawn to creative endeavours, but I wasn't naturally talented at anything. It took me a long time to realise you don't have to be any good - you can be terrible and still have fun. So my creative journey began. I learnt instruments (badly), I upcycled clothes (badly) and I woodworked (badly). But woodworking was the one thing that really stuck with me; it suddenly became all I ever wanted to do. But as someone with no prior knowledge or experience - and no one to guide or teach me in real life - I relied solely on books, blogs and YouTube to teach me, along with a lot of trial and error. And who would've thought that the more you do something, the better you get at it? And now, several years later, here I am writing this book and hoping you'll join me. If you're a beginner interested in woodworking it can feel like an intimidating world to enter. When I first started out, there were two things I struggled to overcome. First was the fear of injury from scary power tools. The second was feeling totally overwhelmed trying to learn the basics from the endless amounts of information out there. My hope with this book is to give you the basic knowledge you need, all in one place, to give you the confidence to get started on your woodworking journey. And if you've already taken your first steps into woodworking, I hope this book can support you as you continue on that journey. Most importantly, I want you to realise that woodworking is an accessible and fun hobby that anyone can get into. Woodworking shouldn't be about perfection. There's nothing more joyful to me than bringing a vision to life with my hands - how finessed you want to become at the art is up to you. You might be someone who wants to create fun designs to fill your home with, or you might be someone who wants to dedicate your time to perfecting complex techniques. I'm here to say both are noble pursuits and neither is better than the other. Wood is beautiful. Creating art is beautiful. And, as we all know, beauty is different to each person. Woodworking is a way to bring your version of beauty into the world. Excerpted from Make Things. from Wood: Easy Woodworking Skills and Designs for the Modern Maker by Annabelle June Buckland All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
