A Carpenter's Notes on the Art of Good Work

After forty years working as a carpenter, and not just any carpenter, but one who is often considered the best in New York and who executes some of the country's most elaborate, expensive, and challenging projects, Mark Ellison has filled hundreds of notebooks with drawings of his plans. He's also made plenty of observations about the nature of work, craft, and doing a good job at whatever you pursue.

Mark is the author of Building: A Carpenter's Notes on Life & the Art of Good Work, and today on the show, he shares some of the lessons he's learned over his career in high-end construction, including those that center on the less romantic aspects of being a carpenter. We discuss the comparative importance of will, talent, and interest in learning a craft, the challenges not only of construction but managing personalities, mistakes, and expectations, why speed is essential for a successful craftsman, and how the principles that make for a master builder carry over into other pursuits.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• "The Art of Building the Impossible" — very interesting New Yorker article about Mark and his work 
• The Very Efficient Carpenter by Larry Haun
• AoM Article: Applying the Ethos of the Craftsman to Our Everyday Lives
• Mark's album: Hard to Tame

Connect With Mark Ellison

• Mark's website