Maciej Sadowski is not only a self-taught carpenter. He is simultaneously an artisan, a designer and a machine constructor to boot. After completing his legal studies and six months of practice in a law office he came to a conclusion that there was no room for creativity in the legal profession. In November last year decided to set up his own company called: Surf Design. 

 

“The decision did not come out of the blue. I have been making objects since childhood.  My first project was a bike ramp,” recollects Maciej Sadowski. Then, he made wooden skateboards which he painted using his own special painting contraption.

 

“The need to do something from nothing accompanies me all the time.  It is a wonderful feeling when an idea for a beautiful object pops into my head in the morning, and I manage to translate it into reality by nightfall,” he observes.  

 

He started his business with the help of a PLN 50,000 loan from ‘Klon’ Project organized by the Polish Entrepreneurs’ Foundation.   He spent half of the amount on tools such as handsaws or jigsaws. The other half will be consumed by the expenses associated with constructing a CNC milling machine. “Making it is an enormous task, and since I have no technical education, I have lost some sleep over it,” he admits. A ready-to-use machine is worth circa PLN 200 thousand. “The required parts cost approx. PLN 20 thousand – the rest is the manufacturer’s know-how,” he explains. His milling machine is currently at the design stage and for the time being, Maciej Sadowski does all the carpentry by hand in his workshop.

    

A mahogany bentwood desk ordered by Polites Association was the first piece of furniture he fashioned.  “It looks like a giant wave and has built-in lighting. At some point my artistic vision went far beyond what the association could afford to pay , so I decided to donate my own money and time, and treat the project as self-promotion,” he says.   Now he is working on kitchen furnishings.

 

Customers find Surf Design through personal recommendations. “The objects I make promote me best.  I fashion furniture from solid wood, generally from oak. I like original items. I believe that attention to detail and making something that will endure is crucial,” he adds. In his opinion there are very few original designers-artisans in the region. “Furniture is often made from imitation wood. The prices of such pieces are overstated, the objects themselves do not stand the test of time and quickly end up in the trash,” he concludes.

 

Maciej Sadowski spends most of his days and nights working. He also strives to fashion objects for his own pure creative pleasure.  For instance, recently he has made a crate for bottles which is inlaid with felt.  He believes that work organization and self-discipline are the hardest aspects of running his own business.

 

He also likes to challenge himself. Based on the order placed by the local music school he is going to construct acoustic panels in cooperation with an acoustic specialist. In addition, he has been commissioned to make a dining room table and chairs. Maciej Sadowski has also come up with an idea to build a table in the form of a loop and he plans to transform this vision into reality soon. He wants to use architectonical concrete in that project – this material also fascinates him.

 

Eventually, he intends to give up commissioned work and make original furniture to be sold online.    “One day I will build my own dream machine park and I will make surfboards,” he plans.

 

ak