Woodwork no dying craft as demand grows
There is a consistent demand for furniture and there is no reason why woodwork should be a dying craft. Get someone to take you on as an apprentice.
Sarah-Jane Bosch spoke to Pierre Cronje and found out more about the profession.
What does your job entail?
Our business is the manufacture of custom-made furniture for clients, and various ranges of furniture for sale in our three retail stores.
Products include domestic furniture - anything from dining room tables, chairs and sideboards, to bedroom furniture such as beds, pedestals, desks, and dressing tables. We don’t manufacture soft furniture like lounge suites, although we do the upholstery of dining room chairs.
The woods we use are mostly exotic, because South African woods tend to be too soft for good quality furniture. Indigenous yellowwood and stinkwood are suitable, but unfortunately they are not readily available.
As the owner of the business I no longer work on the shop floor. My job is designing the furniture and dealing with the many administrative tasks that are a part of any well-run business.
In the design process, I talk to the clients and find out what they need, prepare drawings and quotes, and then discuss the designs to see if further changes need to be made.
Beyond that, I supervise the production team, make sure the production schedule is on track and that the furniture items are being made according to the designs.
Average work day:
I start the day in discussion with the production team, finding out whether there are any problems, or if we are short of materials that I can help the buyer with. After the meetings I look through my e-mails to see if there are any queries from our three retail outlets.
About four times a day, I walk around all the shop floor sections: the machine shop, which processes the timber for the cabinetmakers, and the polishing, hand sanding and upholstery sections.
Best part of the job:
I enjoy designing furniture and talking to the craftspeople on the shop floor.
Worst part of the job:
Administrative tasks are my least favourite.
Why did you choose this career?
I love working with wood and I enjoy designing furniture. I trained as an engineer, but it was dull and boring to spend most of my time behind a computer designing structures.
While I was at school I found woodwork fulfilling and interesting, and I bought and restored antique furniture as a hobby. But I felt I had to get a real job, so I studied civil engineering at university.
While I was at school I found woodwork fulfilling and interesting, and I bought and restored antique furniture as a hobby. But I felt I had to get a real job, so I studied civil engineering at university.
After working in my real job for about four years I realised I couldn’t do it for the rest of my life, and decided to follow my woodworking interests.
I started in a small way, restoring and making furniture, and grew my business from there. It’s hard work and not terribly lucrative, but I thoroughly enjoy coming to work every day.
What else would you have liked to do?
There isn’t any other work I would like to do.
Are you paid enough?
Yes, I live comfortably off the business.
Rate your work stress on a scale of 1 to 10:
Stress levels rise to 8 at times, when there are problems with deliveries, for instance. I take the job very seriously and I have to manage my stress carefully. The creative part of the job is virtually stress free, though, so there is a good balance.
The main trades are:
# Wood machinist - processes wood into furniture-making components.
# Cabinetmaker - assembles machined components into items of furniture.
# Framemaker - makes the frames for upholstered chairs and couches.
# Upholsterer - upholsters chair and couch frames with springs, fillings and decorative covers.
# Furniture polisher - spray- or hand-polishes items of wood.
# Woodcarver - carves panels, legs, scrolls and other raised figures and designs on furniture.
Qualifications needed: You need to complete an apprenticeship or learnership programme.
Where to train: Learnership programmes are available through the Forest Industries Education and Training Authority (Fieta).
Expected earnings: Artisans can expect to earn R35 an hour. Apprentices are poorly paid for two years, after which they can earn a good income.
Contact: Pierre Cronje on 021 691 8959; Furntech on 021 510 0088; Fieta on 011 339 1166, mail@fieta.org.za or www.fieta.org.za
