Getting romantic with your craft

About this episode

The episode explores the traditional German Journeyman Years through the story of Erik, a carpenter who travels and learns without modern technology.

A German journeyman carpenter walks into our studio and within five minutes, we are thinking, hang on… have we made modern life way more complicated than it needs to be? Erik is living a tradition that feels almost impossible in 2026. He is travelling for three years and one day , working wherever he can, learning from other tradespeople, and doing it all without a mobile phone . Not as a gimmick. As a way of life. Erik’s story centres around the German tradition of the Journeyman Years , a rite of passage where carpenters leave home to sharpen their skills, meet other craftspeople, and learn how to work in completely different environments. It is part training, part travel, part personal development, with rules that force you to rely on people, not apps. No scrolling. No “just Google it.” Just real conversations, real problem-solving, and a level of presence most of us have to actively practise. We also talk about craftsmanship in construction and why the word craft still matters. Erik does not speak about carpentry like it is just a job. He speaks about it like it is a craft worth respecting, protecting, and getting better at for life. It had us reflecting on our own…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matthew Carland, Hamish White

Guest: Erik

Topics covered

• craftsmanship
• Journeyman Years
• cultural contrast
• personal development
• construction methods

Keywords

• carpentry
• craft
• travel
• skills
• construction
• Germany
• Australia
• Journeyman
• personal growth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mindful Builder

Places: Germany, Australia

More episodes of Mindful Builder

• What is the end game of building ? · June 7, 2026 · 53 min
• Politics vs building · May 31, 2026 · 57 min
• More good and less bad · May 24, 2026 · 1h 13m
• Ask us anything with Buildingsciology · May 17, 2026 · 1h 6m
• How to stop working in your business · May 10, 2026 · 58 min
• This is a big can of worms · May 3, 2026 · 1h 19m