I've gotten used to wearing my headlamp when
working, because then, no matter where I am and no
matter what kind of work I'm doing, I always have perfect lighting conditions. I really started to improve my drawing skills
in University where I pursued an artistic path throughout
my education. It gave me a background in the history of
art and in drawing techniques and so on. My name is Florian Meigel. I'm 23 years old I developed my passion for woodworking when
I was a child. My parents had a style of upbringing that
gave me a lot of freedom and I am very happy about that.
In our program, you have to create a project
in a single day in order to qualify for your apprenticeship title. And you must receive high marks to qualify for your degree. And through my project, which was named the
best in my group, I qualified for a competition in which I was able to compete against other fully trained joiners. I eventually qualified for the national championship. And then became German champion in 2017. With this German title—called the professional
performance competition—I qualified where I represented Germany as a construction joiner. at the Kazan WorldSkills championship in 2019 I've found that woodworking suits me, and I want to perfect my skills as much as
I can since I have a love of detail. For instance, I'll add a little detail and
people will really respond to it and I'll get a smile or grin from them. I've rarely seen a joiner or a younger colleague who consistently thinks so deliberately about how to construct a piece and how to
implement its principles. That's something that's very unique about
him as a young person in woodworking.
So shortly after the World Cup, I agreed to
test this product. I received an Origin and kind of looked at
it and questioned it for a long time with hesitation until one day it just clicked and I recognized
the potential and then I started to produce projects with
this machine that corresponded to my ideas of good design. That brought me to a point where I was invited to Shaper. They were wondering if I would like to test this machine onsite, full time,
for awhile. This Residency at Shaper will last two months
and my daily routine is going to be entirely devoted to projects of
my own design. I'm staying in the workshop day and night
to bring those projects to life. And in these projects, Origin has become practically essential because not only would it be almost impossible by
hand but through simple templates, and the help of Workstation, I can go beyond the 2-axis cutting that Origin allows, and cut workpieces on all kinds of angles Once you realize this, Origin is the best
tool for cutting in this manner.
I feel that it works quite well for product
development when a very critical user shares the same space as the Shaper team itself, but I also see this as an opportunity to collaborate
on my projects. And in return, they have to endure my problems
and criticisms. I really appreciate that I'm
being given this time to fully concentrate on my projects and
that I have all the resources that I really need.
What I've also done with Origin is create
very unusual joints, reinterpretations of joints that already exist, or completely new joints that may not be feasible
by hand or are more experimental. Like composing longitudinally mating joints
and double-blind corner joints. This is a style that only Origin allows, in
my opinion. I make use of Origin's abilities to cut highly
complex shapes and put them together. And then I combine those operations with other
machines to create even more complex designs. You can see the great potential of Origin. I'm using Origin's 2D cutting capabilities
and then using templates to expand into more complex 3D operations. I used it to construct a veneer form and then
also via pure 2 axis control with a fixed z-axis to trim this top contour. What is extraordinary here is that from half the material thickness you move an offset inwards and then fixture the lower material with a half-thickness offset outwards. And at the end, a curved object is created,
in which it is not really obvious at first glance that it is
made with Origin but in reality it is a pure Origin creation What I have learned here so far, for me personally, is something that I really miss a lot and it
is a certain social component to my work.
What I've discovered here at Shaper, is that
all the employees really enjoy what they do. You come in here and it's a very homey environment. This draws me out of my own introversion and reminds me to open myself up. I think my approach on projects is very spontaneous and random. I always try to capture these quick and random
thoughts in the moment, but it's been important for me to learn to stop and sketch a bit.
That allows me to get these spontaneous thoughts
on paper really quickly. There's a saying: "Paper is patient." So this paper absorbs and processes this information very quickly. It holds this information, and will keep it
for years to come. But what I do with it
is a completely different thing and what I really appreciate is the chance to implement what I've drawn
as quickly as possible instead of saying "That is impossible, I can't
do that." What I don't like to do are things that only
benefit myself. I always try to do something that others can benefit from
and I really hope that at some point I will be at peace with myself so I can share that and enrich others with it somehow. I really want to work with apprentices and
young craftsmen, not just teaching, but really collaborating and getting new impressions from them.
Once I've completed this design degree, I
intend to work in a facility for severely disabled people
and to pass on my knowledge there. I want to do something with my knowledge where
I think there is value behind it. What I'll miss most when i go back to University, is the opportunity to work around the clock
without having the feeling that it is work. That makes work a lot more productive and
beautiful, when you realize that it is actually not work
but that it is something that you love to do..