Matthew Basan

WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?

by Burke Campbell

Published in the Financial Post

November 19, 2007

Matthew Basan is a carpenter who designs and makes custom handcrafted furniture at his business, Sound Design, in downtown Toronto. Matthew tells Burke Campbell what motivated him to become an entrepreneur.

AWAITING AN IDEA: “I worked at bars and restaurants. It was fun but exhausting. I knew I needed a different kind of work.”

EUREKA : “I come from a long line of carpenters, so I’d thought of making furniture. But then something happened that crystallized everything. There was a terrible storm in a community I knew. Many trees were knocked down. All that wood was to be thrown away. But I knew those fallen trees could be re-cycled. That’s when I got the idea for my business.”

A KIND OF MAGIC: “I love making furniture. And if a person has a tree that they’d like to keep in another form, I can shape it into furniture, something beautiful that will last. ”

CONNECTION WITH OTHERS: “Working with my hands is gratifying. It’s great to design furniture and then make it, to know it will become part of a person’s home, their life.”

THE SKILL’S A TREASURE: “People are becoming more sentimental about many things. They take pleasure in owning things that are hand-made. Fine carpentry is a wonderful skill. It’s important to preserve not just the wood, but also to practice and preserve this craft.”

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