MIKE FARRINGTON

Woodworker, content creator; a lesson in contradictions

Colorado cabinetmaker Mike Farrington began our conversation by telling me he wasn’t comfortable around people. Despite this introversion, the hour that followed was filled with friendly conversation, woodworking insights, and philosophical tidbits often cloaked in his distinctive dry wit. Despite an aversion to woodworking instruction on social media, Mike produces videos for his eponymous YouTube channel that have gained him a broad following. While he demonstrates diverse abilities in the videos, his preferred styles stand at opposite ends of the spectrum — simple shaker and complex Kumiko. Even the music he listens to in his shop and recommends at the end of each of his videos runs the gamut from classical to classic rock to rap. If he wasn’t a woodworker, he would be a musician, he jests while acknowledging that he can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Tying all of it together, though, is a love of the craft and a desire to share it with others despite his confessed misanthropic nature. —Derek Richmond

WM: What gets you out of bed every day and into the workshop?

MF: I work hard and do my level best, but I don’t like taking orders. I like to physically build something. It’s cool to work on a project for a couple of days or weeks then stand back and say, “Hey, look, I built that.” That’s what drew me to woodworking. It is physically challenging, but it does make you feel good too.