FEBRUARY 2022
It’s undeniable that Jimmie is filled with a great deal of positive energy and passion for his job as a carpenter.
Words by Pelle Jansson
Photography by Jens Andersson
Jimmie brings forth anecdotes from his multifaceted life and he speaks with empathy and passion, repeating:
- It’s constant. I see potential and opportunities to make something out of everything, out of all the materials and stuff that surround me every day.
On one of the shelves in his workshop lies an old keel log and some wooden planks from something that looks like it was once a rowing boat, or maybe a dingy.
- Not so long ago, I was on site helping a property owner with a job on his house. I had seen the wreckage lying around in that place for as long as I could remember. I asked if he would miss the wreck lying on his plot if I took with me what was left. At first he didn’t understand what I was talking about, but then he asked if it was “those old planks” that lay on the beach and littered that I meant. Laughing, he said "Yes, take them, I will not miss them".
Now this wood is drying in Jimmie's garage, while he waits for some inspiration for what to do with it.
- Right now I have no plan for what to do with the wood. But then it’s such a nice piece of old wood, for me it’s beautiful as it is where it lies”, Jimmie says as he carefully puts back the piece of grey, sun-bleached and weather-beaten wood with corroded old copper rivets and handfitted slotted screws he had produced to show us.
Jimmie loves to recycle and find a use for what many see as scraps, garbage or leftovers. A beautiful example is one of the walls in his workshop. The outer panel consists of various pieces of wood, some painted, others untreated, some planed, others unplaned. The boards have been placed with meticulous care and attention to detail and it’s clear that this is the work of someone who has a natural feeling for color and shape as well as humility towards the material itself. What would otherwise have been discarded is given back its dignity.
- I have for as long as I can remember been mending, fixing and restoring. I’m the kind of person who’s always had several projects on the go at the same time. Maybe it has something to do with my blood type, I don’t know.
Jimmy talks enthusiastically about his latest job, which he says has given him a lot of carpentry joy, not least because the finished product will be so intricate and detailed.
- It was a lady who got in touch and wanted new bargeboards on the house and she told me about her ideas and preferences. I listened to what she said and sat down and started sketching as she talked. I like to work by hand so I handle the sketching with paper and pencil, says Jimmy and points to a raw sketch that is taped to the inside of a tool cabinet.
- There’s the sketch I showed her which she was overjoyed with. I have just put together a jig that I will use to mark out the center of a bunch of holes that will be drilled and become part of the pattern.
- This is what everyday life looks like at work. Much of the time and thought activity is about solving problems, to find functional ways to move forward in the processes with the tools I have at hand. This is where my creativity is put to the test. It's one thing to come up with an idea on paper. To then actually “do the shit" is something that many people skip in the thought process, but that is where the focus is for me as a carpenter.
- I’ve made an enormous number of jigs and templates in my life.
Looking around, it’s clear that Jimmy enjoys an active leisure time. In one corner of the workshop is his mountain bike and from the ceiling and on the walls hang surfboards and SUP-boards amongst various motorcycle parts. On the top shelf is a bright and sparkling orange floor tom for a drum set.
On the floor, raised on trestles, stands a VW Transporter III which he and his friends are fixing up to be a perfect surf & MTB bus. They should be able to sleep comfortably in it and cook on the trips that they’ll plan in the future. Of course, the bus will have to accommodate all the gear - bicycles, surfboards, protection, wetsuits and more - that Jimmie and his family and friends will take with them on their travels around Europe.
- My idea is that the house should have influences from Danish architecture and have a feeling of built-in beachhouse/surflodge. I have only used raw materials such as limestone, concrete, stone, unpainted wood and steel.
I bought the house in the summer of 2020. It was a small classic Swedish summer house (red with white knots). It’s located on a mountain with a wonderful view of spruce and pine and I fell in love with it and really saw the potential in it.
Now I have insulated and paneled the house and treated it with Sioo-X, a treatment that makes the panel grey and has a beautiful silver lustre like driftwood. The trusses were bad and it leaked when it rained. So, I installed a brand-new roof including roof trusses, insulation, raw board, roofing felt and strip folding sheet in Aluzinc. I installed new large black window sections with industrial-style bars. They match the facade and let in a lot of light and widen the view considerably.
Even in the renovation of the house, I recycled a lot of materials and used scraps that I had left over from projects at work.
But the greatest thing now is that I can be that dad to my two kids that I really want to be. You know – that funny dad hanging out with his kids and full of energy and surprises.
My son's name is Vilde and he is 9 years old, cycling is his favourite thing in the world. My daughter's name is Tyra and she is 6 years old and she’s more than happy to follow on our adventures.
I get so much love back from them when they come here and they know that “now we’re gonna go fucking bike crazy” with dad. It really is a double reward for me - it just doesn't get any better than that.
Jimmie's Outfit
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