I've gotten used to wearing my headlamp when working,
because then, no matter where I am and no matter what kind of work I'm doing,
I always have perfect lighting conditions.
I really started to improve my drawing skills in University
where I pursued an artistic path throughout my education.
It gave me a background in the history of art and in drawing techniques and so on.
My name is Florian Meigel.
I'm 23 years old
I developed my passion for woodworking when I was a child.
My parents had a style of upbringing that gave me a lot of freedom
and I am very happy about that.
In our program, you have to create a project in a single day in order to qualify
for your apprenticeship title.
And you must receive high marks to qualify for your degree.
And through my project, which was named the best in my group,
I qualified for a competition
in which I was able to compete against other fully trained joiners.
I eventually qualified for the national championship.
And then became German champion in 2017.
With this German title—called the professional performance competition—I qualified
where I represented Germany as a construction joiner.
at the Kazan WorldSkills championship in 2019
I've found that woodworking suits me,
and I want to perfect my skills as much as I can since I have a love of detail.
For instance, I'll add a little detail and people will really respond to it
and I'll get a smile or grin from them.
I've rarely seen a joiner or a younger colleague
who consistently thinks so deliberately
about how to construct a piece and how to implement its principles.
That's something that's very unique about him as a young person in woodworking.
So shortly after the World Cup, I agreed to test this product.
I received an Origin and kind of looked at it and questioned it
for a long time with hesitation
until one day it just clicked and I recognized the potential
and then I started to produce projects with this machine that
corresponded to my ideas of good design.
That brought me to a point
where I was invited to Shaper.
They were wondering if I would
like to test this machine onsite, full time, for awhile.
This Residency at Shaper will last two months and my daily routine is
going to be entirely devoted to projects of my own design.
I'm staying in the workshop day and night to bring those projects to life.
And in these projects, Origin has become practically essential because
not only would it be almost impossible by hand
but through simple templates, and the help of Workstation, I can go beyond the 2-axis cutting
that Origin allows, and cut workpieces on all kinds of angles
Once you realize this, Origin is the best tool for cutting in this manner.
I feel that it works quite well for product development when a very critical user
shares the same space as the Shaper team itself,
but I also see this as an opportunity to collaborate on my projects.
And in return, they have to endure my problems and criticisms.
I really appreciate
that I'm being given this time
to fully concentrate on my projects and that I have all the resources
that I really need.
What I've also done with Origin is create very unusual joints,
reinterpretations of joints that already exist,
or completely new joints that may not be feasible by hand or are more experimental.
Like composing longitudinally mating joints and double-blind corner joints.
This is a style that only Origin allows, in my opinion.
I make use of Origin's abilities to cut highly complex shapes
and put them together.
And then I combine those operations with other machines to
create even more complex designs.
You can see the great potential of Origin.
I'm using Origin's 2D cutting capabilities and then using templates
to expand into more complex 3D operations.
I used it to construct a veneer form and then also via pure 2 axis control
with a fixed z-axis to trim this top contour.
What is extraordinary here is that
from half the material thickness you move
an offset inwards and then fixture the lower material
with a half-thickness offset outwards.
And at the end, a curved object is created, in which it is not
really obvious at first glance that it is made with Origin
but in reality it is a pure Origin creation
What I have learned here so far, for me personally, is
something that I really miss a lot and it is a certain social component to my work.
What I've discovered here at Shaper, is that all the employees
really enjoy what they do.
You come in here and it's a very homey environment.
This draws me out of my own introversion
and reminds me to open myself up.
I think my approach on projects is very spontaneous and random.
I always try to capture these quick and random thoughts in the moment,
but it's been important for me to learn
to stop and sketch a bit.
That allows me to get these spontaneous thoughts on paper really quickly.
There's a saying: "Paper is patient."
So this paper absorbs and processes this information very quickly.
It holds this information, and will keep it for years to come.
But what I do with it is a completely different thing and what I
really appreciate
is the chance to implement what I've drawn as quickly as possible
instead of saying "That is impossible, I can't do that."
What I don't like to do are things that only benefit myself.
I always try to
do something that others can benefit from and I really hope that at some point I will
be at peace with myself so I can share that
and enrich others with it somehow.
I really want to work with apprentices and young craftsmen, not just teaching,
but really collaborating and getting new impressions from them.
Once I've completed this design degree, I intend to work
in a facility for severely disabled people and to pass on my knowledge there.
I want to do something with my knowledge where I think there is value behind it.
What I'll miss most when i go back to University,
is the opportunity to work around the clock without having the feeling that it is work.
That makes work a lot more productive and beautiful,
when you realize that it is actually not work but that it is something that
you love to do.