'The best bit is figuring out how to make something by hand'
Birthday coming up? Related to Arjan de Jong, by any chance? If so, the odds are on your getting a wooden birthday present. An upmarket chopping board perhaps, or a beautifully crafted little chest. Arjan de Jong's hobby is making furniture, and he does it with great precision and love for his materials. That's obvious at a glance. It all started three years ago. 'I was doing up the house and needed a built-in cupboard. You can get them at IKEA, but I thought there must be other options.' So he signed up for a woodwork course, and he hasn't looked back. He works away to his heart's content in the cellar he's turned into a workshop. 'Having an idea and then making it with your hands. That's what gives you a kick. In my job I make things too - software. But this is something tangible.'
