Citizens' Journal Uffing 2019  recording ofParo Ch. Bolam

When I was 6 years old, I had a real sailing boat on vacation, it seemed big to me at the time. It had actual sails and a huge <<sword>> to counterbalance it to keep it from tipping over in the water. Even then, I was totally fascinated by this clever mechanism, and my enthusiasm for physics has never left me. Maybe I got that from my grandfather, he was a mathematician and physicist and taught me a lot when I was a child. After school I looked for an apprenticeship as a boat builder, but there wasn't anything around here, so I started an apprenticeship as a carpenter instead. I wasn't very impressed at first - normal carpentry isn't particularly creative these days. I also wanted to work with solid wood and that is not the case in most carpentry shops. But nothing stopped me from setting up my first workshop on the Ammersee, where I built solid wood furniture. It seems that I really have a talent for it, because everything I wanted to build, I ended up succeeding.

After my apprenticeship, I worked for 2 years as a journeyman in various carpentry shops and gained insight into all aspects of the carpentry trade. But I knew from the start that I wanted to start my own business, so I went to master school and graduated in April 2005. Now my work was official and I could finally start designing and making the creative furniture I had in mind for clients.

In 2012 I moved from Ammersee to Uffing am Staffelsee, where I was well established until 2020.

The workshop is one of the most important places for me. After all, as a carpenter you spend most of your life in your workshop, you have to feel comfortable there. I also always wanted a workshop close to the mountains.

The large machines, especially the 5-axis CNC that I now have, enable me to process all-round solid wood and I can realize all the great projects that my customers want and I think up.

My latest project will be the production of "Tiny Houses" - small, compact houses in which everything a person needs can be found in a very small space. I find the possibility of giving the houses very individual shapes and creative designs very exciting, while at the same time keeping their weight low and planning and building the necessary installations and facilities. For me, such a house is a total work of art, in which I can contribute all my skills, depending on the customer's specifications.

I could list dozens of other projects that I'm excited about right now! I know my life will never be boring because I love thinking outside the box and always developing something new. Maybe I should have been an inventor!