We recently connected with Uli Kirchler and have shared our conversation below.
Uli, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I grew up in a small German speaking village in the Italian Alps surrounded by glaciers and tall mountains. Castles were part of life there. Some turned into schools, others were converted into museums and restaurants and some just turned to ruins, left for us kids to explore. My work reflects adventures in those ruins as a child, and the many places are visited around the world as a musician and artist.
I always marched to the beat of my own drum. In my 20s, I traveled Europe as a one-man band, harmonica around my neck, drums on my back, guitar in my hand and eventually ended up finding my calling in woodworking.
Now I’m trying to push my limits with the scroll saw, like a composer discovering a brand new key. It’s a tool that has been around for almost 200 years. What started out as wall pieces and vases evolved to 3-D scroll saw scenes. I discovered that with a few precise cuts, I could create “wooden castles” that burst in and out of chunks of wood with a flick of a wrist.
Woodworking has been the focus of my creative energies for over the past 25 years. I had no formal training, relying, instead of my imagination, and my fascination with the beauty of wood, as a means of honing my skills.
The mission behind every piece I create is bringing happiness and smiles to others. And I know I succeed when I see the reactions and surprised facial expressions of everyone coming across my work. In exchange I take that love and energy back to my shop eager to create new work.
Sustainability is very important to me. As an artist, I feel best when I can add value to a piece of wood that in most circumstances would be discarded. I use the entire tree: the lumber to build and sculpt, the twigs, and sawdust for inlays, and the cutoffs to make the castles.
Most of the woods I use are from the West, Oregon, and California. It is important that I select each piece, for in each piece, lies the art, waiting to be revealed. Many of the pieces I select have a fungus that causes discoloration, known as spalting , in the wood. Like a painter, I use that color variation to turn plain looking wood into something far more exotic and alluring. Nature and art collaborating!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I think I answered part of that question in my first section:
What sets me apart from others:
So often when exhibiting my art I hear: hands off and eyes only. Folks adore these little towers and buildings of my pop up castles and cities and often hesitate to touch. On the contrary, one needs to pick up a piece, shake it up , watch the towers fly out, tap the towers for them to disappear back in to the piece of wood. It’s a rather magical moment, accompanied by a wonderful natural wood sound. Instant happiness!
All the towers are cut with a slight angle. They get stuck on one side because they are tapered. They fall out on the bottom side. This is necessary for me to sand each section as well as cutting the doors and windows.
I build each piece with love, attention to detail and the intention of creating a product that will outlast me.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As a one man band and street musician in my twenties I constantly had to be on the road. I grew up in Italy, and would travel from city to city throughout Europe to find new town squares and city centers to perform. I always knew that I wanted to have a family and my own children. That dream came true as I decided to settle in California…
Working for others never seemed an option for me and an adult education woodworking class opened the door to this new part of my life: using my hands to create art pieces out of wood.
The classes were on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the hardest part was the wait in between classes since I did not have my own shop yet. I was so eager to create!!
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
It all started out with moving to California. I had for the first time the opportunity to do some home improvement jobs and realized I was able to add a personal touch to the work I did. Wooden toys, wooden boxes and some furniture pieces were my start. The support I received allowed me to continue.
Every piece I produce I solely created by me. Being an artist is being a problem solver. I had to figure everything out… the most exciting and exhilarating part of life!
Contact Info:
- Website: ulikirchler.com
- Instagram: @ulikirchler
- Other: TikTok @ulikirchler1
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