IF THERE IS ONE THING that Tony Brathwaite will tell you about unabashedly, it is his love for joinery.
The unmistakable passion resonates in his voice, even at the end of what he said is a typically long day for him. He is not boastful or arrogant. He truly enjoys what he does for a living.
He said that while some joiners and other artisans complain about a reduction in work after Christmas, that had not been his experience since he has been busy constructing kitchen cupboards, wardrobes, chest of drawers, vanities, book shelves and television stands.
“October, November, December are very, very busy because I find that a lot of people want a little something done for the Christmas period. I must say I haven’t had a slow period for a long time, honestly.
“People say that January, February and March are slow months because everybody is resting but to me they were no worse than December, November and October. From January till now, it hasn’t slowed down for me. Things are real, real busy for me,” said the owner of Tony’s Divine Finishes.
Brathwaite said he puts a lot of work into his craft and a lot of style and design into the pieces because he did not like simplicity. He admitted that he likes to try new and different things.
“I really love what I do. I really love it and I take it very, very seriously and when I start working I honestly don’t want to stop from morning till sometimes 9 and 10 o’clock at night, once there’s no interference with the neighbours in terms of noise.
“I really love what I do. I really love woodwork, that’s the truth. I see it really as a gift and I have to thank God for teaching me and teaching me pretty quickly. I see it as a gift from Him and I really love it,” he said.
He started the business ten years ago after the Barbados Baptist College, where he worked as the maintenance supervisor, closed. There he did some painting, woodwork and plumbing.
“I always liked woodwork and after they closed we were self-employed and then I went into joinery full-time. Woodwork became a little easier to move into overtime. It is working out very well.
“I had always liked woodwork from school and from then I decided I would try it make it a career. As a matter of fact, when I left school I started doing carpentry and after school I got a job at the Baptist College. I was there full-time and it started from there,” he said.
Brathwaithe, who uses pine plywood, pine, cedar and poplar wood for his creations, said when he started his business he had no tools of his own to work with.
“When I was working at the college the tools that I used belonged to the college. When they closed I started buying tools piece by piece so that’s how I accumulated my tools.
“As you get better and you do more designing, more styles require more and better tools. I’m still buying them because you change techniques and styles and then there are tools for different purposes,” he said.
He added that it was his tools “which do most of the work” and made the work look good and he wanted to teach someone his skills so they would not die.
“I think about that pretty often. As a matter of fact, I have two sons and I told them I can’t wait for them to finish school because I would like to pass on this talent to somebody else. I wouldn’t want to die and that [talent] dies with me,” he said.
“I’m planning that when they go on holiday [in July], I will be taking my 13-year-old son Aren and see if he would do it and teach him as much as I know. If not him, maybe someone else,” Brathwaite added.
The joiner said that you can make a living from the trade “once you are dedicated, love what you do, are honest, and reasonable”.
“In two years I hope to be still working so hard. Right now, I don’t see myself stopping, I’m not thinking about that right now and that’s the truth. I have three kids and I want to make sure I leave something good for them so as long as God gives me the strength, the wisdom and understanding, I will work until my body says ‘you have to stop’.” (Green Bananas Media)
