From wood to words

Hello I'm Dom, I've been a crafts person, artist and maker, yet I'm also an introvert with dyslexia. I'm a lifelong thinker and maker who has spent several decades working as a professional craftsperson.

My journey with making started in the mid-90s in art and design classes - one of the few I enjoyed at school. I created everything from skateboards to wooden box cameras, which sparked my interest in furniture making. This led to working as a bespoke furniture and cabinet maker. After years of working in the UK, I moved to Japan to further explore woodcraft.

In 2022, I built my own small studio workshop where I currently design and make, art and craft works. My approach has always been to explore ideas I truly believe in - creating items I want to see in the world, regardless of trends or fashion. A few years later, in late 2024, I began building another kind of workshop - this digital space you're reading now.

From Wood to Words

Moving to Japan quickly reminded me of my struggles with language. This led me to revisit my approach to reading and writing, especially with spelling challenges, while also trying to learn basic Japanese. This struggle revealed something unexpected - how much I now enjoyed the craft of English words. It's still hard, but it had become enjoyable. This planted the seed to share more of my thouhts on dyslexia.

However, when wanting to present my ideas, I started to feel stuck and worried that I'd need to do a lot of talking to the camera and being high energy online - which is just not my thing.

But it turns out there are lots of ways one can grow in a way that suits each of us.

I want to mention here, it's not that I don't like talking to people - community is the whole reason I have my social media accounts. It just takes energy for me to be constantly showing myself. I regain energy by being in my own thoughts and working in my studio.

Everyone is different and only each of us knows what activities are draining or energizing.

My Approach

Just as I've approached my woodworking - focusing on craft, authenticity, and making things I believe in rather than following trends - I'm bringing the same philosophy to writing about dyslexia.

This is probably not the most optimized way of working, yet it's sustainable for me long term. I hope this can provide value and connection with the people who enjoy seeing what I create.

There are many ways to share our work and thoughts online. So choosing what feels like it fits one's own vision is important.

I hope this open planning allows me to create my best work for you.

Building This Space

Much like building my physical studio, I'm now building this online space - a place where I can share honest writing about adult dyslexia, tools that help me, and explore the creative side of different thinking. It's my digital workshop, where I can craft words with the same care and intention I bring to working with wood.

The parallels - both require patience, practice, and the willingness to work with the materials available to us, whether that's wood or the way my dyslexic mind processes ideas.