How we got started on a rooftop in Cheung Chau
a collective spaceBack in 2019, social distancing kept us indoors and our world small. But every evening, we found our escape (and sanity) out on that rooftop, pulling apart discarded tables and hacking old IKEA shelves into something new. Our workspace wasn’t fancy. Our workbench was a small, wobbly dining table, rusty saws, and a lot of YouTube tutorials on “beginner woodworking projects.” Each project was equal parts experiment and therapy session.
Our first "workshop" was literally a narrow corridor barely wide enough to fit a human along a staircase. Our workbench was repurposed furniture. And you know what, some of these storage techniques really worked and we still have them around the studio!
How It Started
We searched “DIY woodworking projects for beginners” late at night, writing down ideas for small furniture and upcycled crafts. Our first attempt? We made a tiny spoon from a hunk of pine wood we found lying around on the beach. Then, we tried some IKEA hacks. Next came a plant shelf made from a broken table that we repurposed, which we thought was a space saving miracle in our tiny apartment.
It wasn’t about perfection. Every splinter and mistake has built up our skills along the way, and every finished piece gave us a sense of purpose when so much felt uncertain. For us, woodworking was more than a hobby; it became a path through anxiety and isolation in a time when the world seemed to be stopping.
From our Cheung Chau rooftop to our community studio in Mui Wo, DIY and woodworking changed our lives. It has helped us heal, create, and connect.
We hope this encourages you to try woodworking, no matter where you call your workshop.