Shop Notes & Rambles
The Rambles are the stories lived and learned over decades — the moments, the lessons, and the shop life that shaped the craft. They accumulate here, sorted by publish date. If you want the curated version, explore the Workshop Library.
🔥 THE HEARTH ROOM
Manitoba winter has a way of taking more than it gives — the kind of cold that settles into your bones and follows you home. This Ramble looks at the hearth room as an idea born from days like that: a warm refuge imagined against the wind, the snow, and the long fight ahead. A place to keep the cold outside.
🧱 THE CRAWL SPACE THAT’S GOING TO BREAK ME
A century‑old crawl space can humble anyone — and this one might break me before I fix it. A raw look at the ugly, necessary work beneath a prairie home on the edge of becoming something better.
HERITAGE RESTORATION
A prairie house with a past — likely built in the 1880s and moved across Manitoba — still stands with the stubborn bones time couldn’t break. A story about restoring what history left behind.
THE PAVILION PROJECT
A backyard pavilion isn’t a project — it’s a place where heritage, craft, and a century‑old Canadian cookstove come together to build a space with real soul.