Rhapsody in wood

Be it elm, oak or walnut—every type of timber, even every piece of hardwood, has its own particular story. That’s something you can sense just by running your finger over its growth rings. Wood is much more than just a raw material, says Bettina Weishaupt. It conveys warmth and emotion, while its feel and smell can stir memories—perhaps because it has grown organically over the space of decades. The same could be said for her family’s Appenzell-based carpentry firm. For over a hundred years, Weishaupt has combined craftsmanship and passion, not merely working with wood but infusing it with life.

These days, wood isn’t the only material used in its in-house workshop—the heart of the business, as managing director Bettina Weishaupt affectionately calls it—but wood’s special character, quality and expressive look is still very much central to what Weishaupt does. “We treat solid wood with the same attention to detail as our high-quality wood veneers. You have to be able to read the grain.” Pieces each pass through countless hands, being not so much selected as carefully curated before going into a particular project.

Every job—be it an artistic original creation, a bespoke piece for a private home or complex fittings for offices, restaurants or hotels—brings its own unique demands in terms of form and function. That, says Weishaupt, is precisely what makes the work so fascinating. And it’s not just the projects that are extremely varied. In addition to wood, other high-quality natural materials such as fabrics, leather and metal are painstakingly transformed in the family firm’s workshop, via a combination of traditional craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology.

The company applies the same meticulous care to its human resources too. Here, experienced specialists who’ve been passing on their knowledge for decades work hand in hand with young talents who bring in fresh ideas. Bettina Weishaupt calls them her “orchestra”, every member contributing his or her own distinct melody. To continue the metaphor, she herself is perhaps the conductor—it’s her role to ensure the different personalities, skills and creative inputs still come together harmoniously. Unlike her father, who learnt the trade from the ground up, she joined the firm after initially pursuing a career elsewhere, and so brings her own perspective to the business. What she’s inherited, however, is a love of craftsmanship, a respect for heritage and a desire to continually explore new avenues, aesthetic or otherwise. In that sense, she is, like the generations before her, continuing the traditions that have defined the company since its founding in 1918. In doing so, she’s playing her own part in this polyphonic ensemble—an ensemble that imbues every piece of work with warmth, precision, passion and craft.