Maker Man: Bill Maniotakis

Apr 23

A look behind the scenes of one of SAWS most productive, versatile and engaged makers

He opened a jar of curiosity as a young man and could never get the lid back on. It drove him, morphed into relentless creativity, a need to make beautiful and useful things. Matured from simply producing more items to a focus on performance excellence.

Today Bill Maniotakis is celebrated for his accomplishments inside and outside the Southern Alberta Woodworkers Society (SAWS) organization. It is a truly substantial skills portfolio.

Exquisite furniture maker; creator of beautiful woodwork with a significant number of SAWS Fine Works in Wood Exhibition entries; newly into wood turning; carver of shapes; patient (mostly) Dad on many family woodworking projects; accomplished landscape painter; dabbler in pyrography, leather work, stained glass; and a maker of beauty of what he would describe as the most rewarding kind, using his skills on project teams of the local Ability Workshop, which supports many people with special needs in the community.

Those who know him would acknowledge that descriptive but know he may be a bit uncomfortable with the attention. They know him as a quiet person, a gentle man and a gentleman, not given to excess, but at the same time, delightfully and frankly opinionated on artistic approach, at times stubbornly so, underlying a confident pride in his knowledge and skills.

A look in the window

One of the benefits of SAWS membership is a chance to look in the window of the shops and lives of our fellow maker members. In that spirit we are here, looking in the Maniotakis window, on his approval rather than like some creepy neighbor.

The first thing we learn in conversation is his function-first background. Like many Canadian families the Maniotakis family were immigrants, arriving from Greece when Bill was eight. A recollection is how his father was so fearless, unafraid to tear apart things and find a solution to problems.

“I got that mindset from him,” he says. “Do it yourself and feel the satisfaction.”

The fine woodworking bug came in his fifties when kids were on their own and he had more time. Simple tools and a first project of a simple jewelry box from Fine Woodworking.

It is fitting that this story is written in a SAWS Exhibition year. That’s what first got him interested. “I was walking through the mall and saw the Exhibition. Had a good conversation with member Dave Ross and joined that year. Put in my first piece the following Exhibition.”

The shop

His shop we could say, maybe a little enviably, is “a really good one”. The “Garage Mahal” as his family calls it. Purpose build triple car garage that conveniently tucks below grade into the gentle back yard slope to allow highly functional 10-foot ceilings inside without overpowering the visual space outside. Twenty-four feet long on the double side, 32 feet single side.

It is a true hybrid affair with a strong assortment of quality tools. He loves the space and tools, and they spend several hours together many days a year.

Until 2010 when he built it, most woodworking was on weekends. With dedicated space came room to handle work on his terms and the convenience of having tools ready. When it is convenient you use it, he says. If its tucked away somewhere you will take a short cut.

“I feel really fortunate for my shop,” he says sitting comfortably amidst the signs of continual activity, tools and wood. “It is a little expensive to run but I look at it as an investment. It should be a selling feature when I am done.”

Interestingly, today he is less of a tool purist on technique than he once was. “When CNC or Dominos first came out or, I thought they were cheating,” he says. “But I have really changed my mind on them. If you can afford them that’s great. They are just another tool. They give you a way to produce accuracy and control that is hard to do manually.”

Where he learns

Where does an inspired continual learner find the next stage of the craft?

Maniotakis says with his engineering background, design was always important, details always part of his life and career. The woodworking craft is an extension of that.

“I learn from life basically,” he says. “If there is a need, how do I make the solution happen?”

Initial learning came from magazines but today the sources are endless. “For me social media is more about learning than killing time,” he says. “I join communities that focus on making stuff. Ideas, jigs, procedures, things pertinent to this craft. Like recently, building a jig that uses a biscuit jointer in a table format to make flutes in a sliding cabinet door. It ends up with a nice little arc. I like to work those things out.”

He has also learned a lot from SAWS members. Details like working with full size drawings, a trick he learned from long-time SAWS member Dave Ross.

“I put the drawings and pieces together and sit back and look at it. Will it work in design and scale. Then make a drawing of it with various views.”

Best projects

Ask him what of his work he is most proud of and like the essence of the man, you get a combination of function and beauty.

Boxes. He’s done at least one for most Exhibitions since he joined. Also, today a regular production effort is funeral urns; some for family, some to sell, some to give away.

“Boxes are a great way to start woodworking. You learn the joinery, finishing. They include function, style, aesthetics, ratios. There is just so much to learn in this craft and many of those skills are needed on a small scale on boxes.”

Favorite family projects. Sliding white oak doors for his son and daughter-in-law. Each one has six glass panels. They didn’t want the usual barn door hardware noticeable so this option is totally invisible, he explains.

Another favorite is a desk for his son, featured in a Canadian Woodworking magazine article.

SAWS Exhibition entries. He is frequent contributor. A favorite is a walnut hall table for which he received first place. He also made a smaller version in a 2 x 4 competition.

Ability Workshop projects. Two projects stand out, neither with photos provided here for client privacy reasons. A mobility lift chair for a non-communicative little girl designed to convert into multiple uses, like those toy Transformers. It rolls around, with a little table top and lifts to table height. A combination of engineering, metal, wood and design skills.

And a special twin sized crib for a special little boy who can use it as a bed into near adulthood. Made from scratch. Breakdown design so it could be transported. Doors opened from centre outward and with special hinges that allowed sides to be folded back. Many spindles, all done by hand. The youngster is put inside with a special lift and the bed needed to be adjustable to handle that.

New things. Carving, for example. The popular Eames birds (see pic) carved for a SAWS Exhibition were an introduction to carving. Now, SAWS member and neighbor Brad Pachal has him into knife carving.

SAWS thanks

If you have enjoyed or benefited from any aspect of SAWS, there is a good chance that Maniotakis had something to do with it. Currently he runs the Zoom camera for SAWS monthly meetings. But that is his slowdown stage. He has been active on many fronts. A board member, treasurer for eight years. An Exhibition Standards Committee member. Frequent exhibitor in the Fine Works in Wood Exhibitions. And behind the scenes gopher.

“I owe a lot of credit to SAWS for helping me expand my knowledge and skills and providing the inspiration from Exhibitions. Interestingly, I really didn’t feel like part of the club until I volunteered for the board,” he says. “The only way you get to really know people is to do something with them.”

It all ties together.

“For me making is a way of life. I just want to do this as long as humanly possible.”

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Terry Hockaday