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发表于 2011-4-23 22:40:59
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China daily 中国在线采访Wood works
By Cheng Anqi
Updated: 2008-03-29 07:55
A chance visit to the Swedish furniture mart IKEA so stirred latent interest in carpentry that it led Li Zhenfei to start a woodworking club and online forum, that is now the rage with carpentry enthusiasts. Li, 35, previously a network administrator, moved to his new apartment two years ago at the Huilongguan community with his wife. However, he could hardly come up with any dcor for his simple home, with just 5,000 yuan ($709) in his account. With the couple still waiting for a job, their only option was to go DIY.
Li Zhenfei (left) and Pei Li. Photo by Guo Yingguang
| A casual stroll through IKEA opened Li's eyes to the store's line of simple, no-fuss yet quality designs, that lend themselves to self-assembly.Falling back on his basic skills in working with wood, Li managed to come up with 14 pieces of furniture in just a month, including two wardrobes with sliding doors, a three-drawer round table, a computer table, a chest of drawers, a cupboard, a wooden sofa, a TV cabinet, two nightstands and a frame for a sliding glass for the balcony of his apartment. And he managed all this within his limited budget."I had never before dealt with any woodworking tools, and was even less familiar with taking measurements, designing or the raw materials. But with my back against the wall, I was forced to deal with all of this."For the first week, Li spent all his time drawing out his designs. "I do not know how to use Photoshop, so all the drafts are hand made," says Li, attributing his visual and drawing skills to childhood experiences that include taking apart his mother's watch and doing well on school geometry.Once he was done with doing up his home, he uploaded photos of his creations as well as his DIY experiences on the Internet. He was floored by the overwhelming praise they elicited.With the encouragement of friends, Li started a woodworking club in Haidian district and also started an online forum. All this was in 2006. With a growing number of hits, Li's forum soon came to the attention of China's white-collar workers. Crowds started pouring into his 75-sq-m workshop to learn the ropes of woodworking - from large closets to pet cabins. "I soon had to rent a larger space where people could bring just their originality and blueprints," says Li. Earlier last year, Li set up a workshop called DIY Carpenters' Home.The club attracts mostly young white-collar workers and some seniors as well. Most of them have never dealt with any woodworking tools, much less knowing the measurement, style design, and raw materials. They come to Carpenter's Home not just for cheap furniture, but to experience the fun of woodworking, even though they would need to pay moderate tuitions."We escape from the big pressure of five-day working in the office and release the built-up tension in DIY working," said a member of DIY Carpenter's Home. "The furniture sold in mall is undoubtedly good in quality and style, but its price is often over my budget. The slab-style furniture I make here is with lower technique requirement, and people can bring it on as long as figuring out structure, raw materials and hardware. More importantly, DIY saves cost and is eco-friendly."Not only did the online service bring him students, but also a good helper, and later, partner. Pei Li, a DIY enthusiast and an agent for an automobile instruments company, stumbled across Li's forum by accident. "I immediately sensed a kindred spirit," says Pei.Pei is comfortable with English and had picked up his carpentry skills from American woodworking magazines such as Wood Fancy and Fine Woodworking."I noticed that Li's forum lacked good how-to tips. This is one area where I have contributed," says Pei. He explains that he helps translate information on foreign publications on woodworking into Chinese and put them on the forum.The 27-year-old says, compared to the West, few in China have interest in DIY carpentry. And even for the interested minority, "it's a small market and no established organizations to provide direction".Li's forum has come to the rescue of workers such as Lin Yifan, a new father on the lookout for an infant cot. Faced with the expensive options on the market, costing around 3,000 yuan, Lin turned to Li. The proud Dad soon had a baby bed for just 400 yuan.The club's weekly activity is now drawing a number of people, and a woodworking competition is scheduled for early April. The chosen works will be posted online, along with step-by-step instructions, says Pei. "And contestants will also have to pose with their artworks," he adds.(China Daily 03/29/2008 page8)
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