- HOMEGROWN WORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
This piece explores Studio Clutter’s seven-day ‘Furniture Making Intensive’ in Manmuqi Village near Chennai. The residential workshop invites participants of all skill levels to design and build their own teak furniture, from a tea table to a medicine cabinet or keepsake box, under the guidance of expert woodworkers.
When you make something with your own hands, its value automatically increases. It becomes a meditation in patience and consistency. I used to be obsessed with LEGO when I was younger, and because it was a luxury, I would only get a set on my birthday or during Diwali. After that, I would savour the construction process, whether it was a plane or a dollhouse. I would take my sweet time putting it together because, for some reason, the process always felt more enjoyable than the final product. And when it was done, I would store it in my bookcase, creating a shrine of all the LEGO sets I had built.
One summer, my dad and I used the construction and carpentry skills I had “learnt” from my LEGO phase (which were close to nothing) to put together an IKEA cupboard. Armed with a screwdriver, my dad and I went up against IKEA’s indecipherable instruction manual. The assembly definitely took longer than it should have. Twenty missteps, ten father-daughter arguments, and five missing screws later, we finally did it. It felt like we had won a war, and I realised once again that when you put time into creating something, it automatically holds far more meaning than the object ever would otherwise. Now it’s yours — truly yours.
Studio Clutter’s ‘Furniture Making Intensive’ delves into this very idea of crafting something with your own hands, offering deeper insight into the art and skill of carpentry. This seven-day residential workshop from 26th February to 4th March, is based in Manmuqi Village, a remote and quiet farm near Chennai, is designed to guide participants through the different stages of furniture making and equip them to complete their own personal projects.
Participants can choose one of their three projects to build: a tea ceremony table, a medicine cabinet and a keepsake box, all made of teak wood. All of the three courses are designed for people of all woodwork proficiency levels from beginners to trained designers and architects. By working under the supervision of two expert woodworkers, the objective of this residency is to give participants the framework, tools, methods and especially confidence one needs to be able to see a carpentry work to fruition.
Accommodation and food, along with necessary materials such as wood, sandpaper, fittings, and both hand and power tools, will be provided every day of the residency.
Set in the quiet and serene environment of Manmuqi Village, surrounded by paddy fields, this furniture-making residency is an immersive, hands-on experience that allows participants to work with intention, and fully engage with the craft of carpentry from start to finish. By the end of the seven days, perhaps participants will be able to understand and respect the process that goes behind each of these pieces that we tend to view and take for granted in our daily life.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
How Chennai’s Indowud NFC Is Turning Rice Husk Into Sustainable Furniture
Learn Carpentry Or Buy Hand-Crafted Wooden Furniture From A Boutique Studio In Mysuru
Tanuvi Hegde's New Furniture Collection Seems Tailor-Made For The Most Anxious Generation
