Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman

Why We Make Things is a book of introspection, history, scholarship, and enlightenment. Peter Korn deftly weaves stories of self, others, craft, and minds into a compelling and riveting narrative. In light of today’s widespread “Maker Movement”—most of it centered on digital tools—it is illuminating to return to physical making for insights into craft as a form of self-fashioning wherein each of us, through human effort and creativity, can put our own personal spin on tradition and, in turn, transform tradition, ourselves, and, perhaps, society as well. The claims in the book about mind and meaning are all empirically well supported in current research, though Korn does not belabor this fact. However, the book goes beyond facts that are true to discuss facts that matter. In the end, the book exemplifies something that scholarship is only now coming to realize: mind, emotion, values, and the self all merge and reinforce each other in the act of mindful making. The book is artfully written and is a fully engaging read. In my own view, we live today in the midst of many crises because we have forgotten—often in the pursuit of greed and ideology—that the world “talks back” when you act on it and that failing to listen to it with respect is dangerous for body and soul. Why We Make Things lovingly shows how we can listen to things to become better people.

I read this book based upon the rave reviews it got. I was sorely disappointed. Not only is his writing rambling and repetitive, but the title is totally misleading. It should read "Why I Made Things and Why it Mattered to Me." There is no inclusive discussion whatsoever. I also found his uncritical discussion of his own work out of place. I have seen much better furniture design with much less fanfare on the artist's part. If the piece should be able to speak for itself, then let it do the talking.

Peter Korn poses an intriguing question: "Why do we choose the spiritually, emotionally, and physically demanding work of brining new objects into the world with creativity and skill?" This book is his extended response to that question. After completing his academic assignments for the University of Pennsylvania, he embarked on what became a journey of discovery during which two epiphanies occurred. (More about them later.) "My intuition from the first day I picked up a hammer was that making things with a commitment to quality would lead to a good life." In this book, he retraces the steps of his journey "with reference to larger frameworks - historical, sociological, psychological, and biological - to discover how and why that intuition turned out to be valid."

His readers tag along with him from Nantucket Island to Frederick (Maryland) to New York City and then Philadelphia before relocating (again) to the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village (Colorado) for which he served for the six years as Program Director before finally founding (in 1992) the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport (Maine). Along the way, he published Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship (Taunton Press, 2003) and The Woodworker's Guide to Hand Tools (Taunton Press, 1998). Why We Make Things and Why it Matters is his third book. And along the way, he was stricken by cancer and struggled with personal losses best described by him,

With regard to the aforementioned epiphanies, the first occurred in November (1984) when he had been hard at work on a cradle: "After three days of intense focus, cold, and solitude, the cradle is complete -- a miraculous birth in its own right. I have somehow transform benign intent into a beautiful functional object. This is my moment on the road to Demascus. I am overtaken by the most unexpected passion." (Page 28).

The second epiphany occurred in 1991 during his sixth year at Anderson Ranch. By way of background, he explains that he had previously composed an artist's statement, one that included a sentence that brought his emerging ideas into focus. It read: My own values became clear when I eventually realized that the words I used to describe my aesthetic goals as a furniture maker -- integrity, simplicity, and grace -- also described the person I sought to grow into through the practice of craftsmanship." (Page 102) That sentence was his second epiphany.

While re-reading the book in preparation to compose this brief commentary, I was again reminded of similar experiences that James Joyce describes in several of his letters and short stories as well as in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Of course, I have no idea whether or not Korn had Joyce and his work in mind when sharing this especially significant moment during his own development. Be that as it may, his transition from carpenter to craftsman is near complete, with details best revealed within the narrative, in context.

What's my take? Of greatest interest and value to me is what Peter Korn has to say about how he "found his way in the world" by committing himself to (as Richard Sennett expressed it) "doing something well, for its own sake." Consider this brief excerpt from Creativity in which Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi observes: "To achieve the kind of world we consider human, some people had to dare to break the thrall of tradition, Next, they had to find ways of recording those new ideas or procedures that improved on what went on before. Finally, they had to find ways of transmitting the new knowledge to generations to come. Those who were involved in this process we call creative. What we call culture, or those parts of ourselves that we internalized from the social environment, is their creation."

For Korn, these "essential" observations by Sennett and Csikszentmihalyi ring true: "There is great satisfaction to be found in work that engages one as an end in itself." His experiences can be described in many different ways. He found his calling, he found himself, he found his True North...all quite correct.

For me, the key to understanding the experiences that Korn discusses, many of which resemble our own, is to think of how he created a good life as well as a successful career. He and countless others have learned through their own experiences that what they love to do, what they most enjoy, is probably what they do best, despite challenges and setbacks along the way. "And so it is. As a maker you put one foot in front of the other and you own the journey. Finding creative passion that governs your life may be a curse as well as a blessing, but I would not trade it for anything else I know."

One final point: It will come as no surprise to those who are already familiar with Peter Korn's art and craftsmanship that he complements his lean and effective prose with preliminary sketches and then photographs of some of his creations, illustrations that are of superior quality. They bring his story to life in ways and to an extent words alone cannot. Bravo!

Both honest and inviting, Why We Make Things and Why It Matters, is a book worth stopping long enough to read. Korn's memoir of how his craft has shaped him has wide applicability to other fields and lives, including my own field of urban education. When work is a vocation rather than a career, there are endless possibilities for growth in attending to the most minute, seemingly mundane interaction. A book for us all.

Just brilliant. Very heartfelt, honest, and raw. There's not one wasted sentence in the entire book. If the title of the book appeals to you in any way, you will probably love this book.

Just as Robert Pirsig became the voice of a generation, Peter Korn reminds us in his new and important book to slow down and get our hands dirty; he reminds us that bringing ourselves into relationship with the stuff of art, be it paint, words or wood, resonates at a deep level and satisfies in a way that nothing else in our fast lane modern lives can. As he does in his own wood-working school in Maine, he teaches that it isn't necessarily about talent, but it is necessarily about connecting to our deeper selves. He has fought to walk his talk in a life that hasn't always been easy, and his book deserves every star I can give it.

A very poor reiteration of some really good books. A complete and utter waste of money.

This is a book for adults of all ages and occupations. It is a thoughtful review of a life's journey as well as an educational and philosophical template for anyone thinking deeply about their own meaning and contribution. Looking back, we can each see a trajectory to our lives but rarely do we think or analyze what it means to community as a whole or how it fits into an historical era.
Peter Korn's expansion from self to others, the fruition of his exquisite intellectual training and capacity to integrate, and his willingness to hone his skills over years of intensive labor - all testify to the power of creativity and the wonder of the human spirit.
A book not to be missed!

If you are looking for how to or are put off by someone thinking deeply about himself and his work you won't like it. If that interests you then it's a great book. I highly recommend it but I AM a nerd so . . . It is very well written, thoughtful, careful, not dismissive of the reader. But he's not trying to convince you of anyting or sell an idea or philosophy- at least I didn't read i that way. If you are into craft and thinking about it it's a good read.

Not enough insight into "why we make things". I got more insight into Peter Korn as a liberal old hippie. Also not enough info, on why it matters that we make things. The good points, as to the history background of trials; as a woodworker. It proves that you just can't make a piece of furniture; and sell it; and make a comfortable living at woodworking.