Making Things Right

1

I work with wood. Having been a certified apprentice, I am now a qualified master craftsman, what most people refer to as a carpenter.

    I learned the trade as an apprentice, and as a master I learned how to run a business. For me the craftsmanship, the work itself, is more meaningful than the management side; therefore my certificate of apprenticeship is more important to me.

    There is nothing mysterious about skilled manual labor. My job is done to order and is wholly dependent upon demand, upon the instruction of others.

    I am a contractor, an entrepreneur, and a businessman. These are the words used to describe what I do. I am a carpenter, this is the word I use, and I run a one-man carpentry firm.

    The smaller firms in the building trade carry out what can be termed minor jobs, the larger companies are not that interested in those types of contracts. They are busy building whole new housing developments, hospitals, schools, sometimes a kindergarten and smaller commercial premises.

    The smaller contractors put in new bathrooms, one by one; they replace windows in houses, and erect garages. They also build a lot of new houses, as well as the board and pole for the mailbox outside. A large amount of the maintenance and modernization of the almost two and a half million residences in Norway is carried out by smaller contractors.

    There are a lot of us and we are to be found everywhere, so it goes without saying we are a diverse group. We are part of the same industry, we are tradesmen, and the fact that we approach our jobs in different ways is something tradesmen know better than anyone. We are fast, slow, good, bad, grumpy, happy, cheap, expensive, honest, and some of us are dishonest. All descriptions are relevant to the trade, with craftsmanship and its application.

    I live in T¿yen in Oslo and work for

Ole Thorstensen was born in Arendal, Norway but was raised on Tromøy, an island with five thousand inhabitants. He is a trained carpenter and has worked for twenty-five years in the construction industry. He now lives in Eidsvoll, six miles north of Oslo. He makes his debut with a story about work and identity in a tribute to manual labor.

A humble yet noble tribute to the value of honest work Norwegian master carpenter Thorstensen s authentic and engaging account of running his one-man business delivers real truths about doing one s own thing Readers will love Thorstensen s insights into work and life.   Booklist (starred)

A charming book by a master carpenter about the lost arts of craftsmanship and community at work.   Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

"Making Things Right is a rare gem of a book. Through a close-grained description of a single project, Ole Thorstenson lovingly reveals the dynamics, the frustrations and the deep fulfillment that make up the life of a master craftsman.  As carefully crafted as the work it describes, Making Thing Right has some large lessons to teach: about the heights of human ingenuity, the power of aesthetics, the value of manual work, and the need for empathy and collaboration in work and everyday life. Parents and educators, not least, should take these lessons to heart. Properly understood, they would help to transform the quality of schools and communities, and the life chances of our children and young people."  Sir Ken Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of The Element and You, Your Child, and School

The shrewd and plainspoken carpenter Ole Thorstensen turns a domestic building project into a gripping tale of craftsmanship in action. The techniques of fine carpentry come to life here, but it s also clear that to turn a raw space into graceful living quarters calls for more than a strong back and adroit hands. Negotiating with owners, architects and engineers while marshaling his fellow tradesmen compels Thorstensen to become psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist, and historian. After reading Thorstensen s immersive account of his working life you won t look at a carpenter with the same eyes again. David Esterly, author of The Lost