The Made Series: Made by Amin

THE MADE SERIES

In this final instalment of The Made Series we hero the people behind our tools, responsible for crafting each Tait piece. Here we get to know just a few of the passionate hands your furniture passes through - before it becomes an intrinsic part of your life. With a team of just twenty craftspeople, Tait proudly embraces makers from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and genders. The one thing they do hold in common though is an innate (and often multi-generational) love for their craft.

Meet Amin, one of Tait’s leading welders. After arriving in Australia from Iran in 2010 as a refugee, Amin was held in immigration detention for two years. While holding a degree in Physics yet unable to transfer his skills in Australia, upon his release he needed to support himself and earn money immediately. Amin turned his sights to gaining a qualification in welding – originally the family trade back home in Iran, with his father and brothers all welders in the agriculture industry. As he neared the completion of his qualification, he began actively looking for welding roles through the government’s Job Seeker program, yet struggled for some time. It wasn’t until Tait engaged the program to reach out to new graduates, that Amin interviewed for the role and was hired on the spot. Since then, Amin has been a pivotal part of Tait’s welding team for over six years. “I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to work at Tait, I’m constantly motivated by learning new skills and methods. Michael, Derrin and Gordon have taught me everything I know, I’m fascinated by their skilled minds.”

“The thing I enjoy most is the constant change of processes, and working on all of Tait’s different products. I don’t like to get stuck doing one repetitive task for too long! I’m very proud that I can now fabricate every single Tait product. I feel it’s very important to know how to make everything so that I can assist if someone is away or with training the other welders – I also like to keep my mind very active.”

“The thing I enjoy most is the constant change of processes, and working on all of Tait’s different products. I don’t like to get stuck doing one repetitive task for too long! I’m very proud that I can now fabricate every single Tait product.”

“The most challenging part of the job is the persistent hyper-focus required in order to avoid mistakes. Even a very small lapse in focus can have a drastic effect and require many hours to fix, or requiring to start again. For example, you have to be very skilled and well-practiced when welding aluminium, it is highly affected by heat and can warp the frame very easily. Also, when fabricating a frame, you must be very precise with the measurements. If a section is just 2mm long or short, the frame may not assemble together properly. I always check everything thoroughly along the way to avoid things taking longer than they need to.”

Published 17 March 2021

Share

Latest Stories