Sometime in October I had the very distinct pleasure of working with Justin Mabie, from the channel Call Me Mabie, on a short feature video. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Justin’s work, Justin is the man behind the camera for April Wilkerson, and has been doing a number of features of woodworkers and makers in the community at large, including but not limited to Philip Morley, Greg Pennington, and Brandy Aube. Justin’s aim is to really get behind the curtain and talk about who we are as people, instead of really focusing solely on our work, which in my opinion is quite a refreshing take.
For the most part, my YouTube channel has been solely work based and while I do try to inject my personality a bit into the videos, I’ve consistently aimed to let the work do the talking and demonstrate my growth along the way. So needless to say, moments where I talk about my Father’s influence, and even my new fiancee are typically few and far between in my current YouTube content, but Justin managed to capture those snippets beautifully. His eye for detail and visual story telling, utilizing captivating b-roll to help match the narrations, is truly second to none.
This video takes you on a stroll around my hometown, inside my super small one car garage shop (yes it’s smaller than everyone else who claims single car garage shop), and shows some of my friends as well as some of my work that hasn’t necessarily been featured on here or on my YouTube channel.
I talk about why hand tool woodworking is important to me and how I got into it. It’s more than just some pretentious desire to be different, it’s a love of the history of this craft and a desire to be more exact in everything I do.
Justin’s video was shot during the middle of the Timber Frame Barn Door construction, and I have to say, he was able to get better footage of my construction process with amazing clarity. I almost wish I had my own personal Justin that could follow me around and get all the unique angles and crisp shots with motion to develop that more cinematic feel I try and achieve in my videos.
One of the more interesting turns this video takes is a brief trip to Buddha Pants headquarters. This summer, I retrofitted a shipping container and did built in storage under their stairway. It was 1000% not hand tool woodworking, but in spite of that, was able to teach me more about construction, making, and the development of my work ethic and character. This build was absolutely grueling and for the most part, done by myself. It incorporated basic deck building, welding, paint, case work, installation of cable railing, making stairs, etc. It was originally going to be a YouTube video, but with pressing deadlines, I wasn’t able to utilize it for content the way I had hoped.
We even swung by the Mack House in Davie, a local craft beer bar and brewery for a pint and a bite. I was one of the first five customers at this establishment and developed some close friendships and relationships with the owners and staff. It’s been a staple in my local arsenal, y’know… besides diner food.
If you’re a fan of what I do, I strongly encourage you to watch this video and get that behind the curtain look. In reality, one of the things I try and achieve with this channel and brand is to show everyone that exceptional work doesn’t need to come from a full production shop. You don’t need formal training. You don’t need a standing vintage bandsaw. You just need the desire, the drive, and the love for the craft. The title of this video was picked by me, Woodworking the Hard Way. The hard way may not always be the best way, but in my opinion it’s the most fun. Thanks for following along. I appreciate you all.
Follow Justin on YouTube and Instagram and watch the video below.