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S1 · E244 min

The slow apprenticeship

Theo Marsh on learning woodwork in his thirties, and why the first hundred hours are the most honest.

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Before he left the law, Theo spent three years learning woodwork on Saturday mornings. We talk about learning slowly, failing in private and the strange joy of being a beginner again.

In this episode

  • Weekend workshops and borrowed chisels
  • Learning from teachers half your age
  • The first hundred hours, and why they feel so bad

The wood doesn’t care what you used to be.

Theo Marsh

Mentioned in the show

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Transcript

 1 min read

Maya Theo, you were a partner at a law firm when you first picked up a chisel. What did that first Saturday feel like?

Theo Humiliating, in the best way. I spent three hours trying to cut one straight line and the line won.

Theo My teacher was nineteen. She’d watch me for a while, then say “slower” and walk off. She was always right.

Maya You talk about the first hundred hours as a kind of test.

Theo They’re where you find out whether you love the thing or just the idea of the thing. The idea doesn’t get you through hour forty.

Theo Start small enough that finishing is guaranteed. A spoon. A box. Something you can hold at the end of the day.

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