“I think that’s the good thing about us… I feel like it’s a family.” - Kathy Piscioneri >> Back row: Keith Fechner, Guy Martin, Roger Leslie, Raelene O’ Connor, Ivan O’Hara and Peter Boschen. Front row: Ian Curren, David Johnson and Gerry Canavan.
Turning craft into conversation WORDS HEIDI HELBIG PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN KRÜGER
You know morning cuppa’s over at the Tinkers Shed when Keith Pfeiffer goes back to work.
came to the Tinkers Shed seeking both to learn and share the skills of craftsmanship.
“You’ve got two minutes to go,” Keith calls over his shoulder as he returns to the shed floor, to a chorus of laughter.
Gerry Canavan, who “helped build the place” back in 2009.
Good natured banter flows easily between these Tinkers, who come from all walks of life. There’s David Johnson, a quiet and unassuming type, who makes exquisite wooden jewellery boxes and Japanese tool boxes for friends. Peter Boschen, the Apprentice, who arrived at the Tinkers shed just a few months ago. Kathy Piscioneri, nee Meyer, daughter of a cabinet maker, who
Peter Cooper, a raconteur affectionately known as Peter Turner because of his superior woodturning skills. Sharon Arnold, who’d never picked up a drill before she set foot in the Tinkers Shed. Ian ‘Chuck’ Curren, a retired tech studies teacher who couldn’t stay away if he tried, and doesn’t want to. And chairman, Guy Martin, the chief tea and coffee purchaser on “director’s wages” who is the metaphorical glue that holds the whole thing together.
