The Heavy Life

I'm Jake Lunniss. I make furniture by hand in a small workshop in Ocean Grove, cook lunch for strangers every other Saturday, and write about what happens when you build a life with your hands instead of a screen. I write here every week about the slow business of building a life that smells like sawdust, dirt and dinner.


Latest

Dispatch: Templates, Spectres, and Saturday Prep

The sweet, cancerous aroma of MDF has filled the workshop this week. I've been sweating it out in PPE making template after template for the desk legs. I have an affliction. A curse. A Spectre who haunts me,

6 March 2026 · 2 min read min read

Dispatch: Templates, Spectres, and Saturday Prep Dispatch: Templates, Spectres, and Saturday Prep Dispatch: A Dropped Pie, a Self-Portrait and New Residents Dispatch: A Dropped Pie, a Self-Portrait and New Residents
The first time a chisel bit into a piece of timber the lie of the digital world was exposed.
Read the manifesto →

Essays

The longer pieces — the ones worth forwarding
Essay: The Boys Made the Pastry
23 Feb 2026 · 3 min read min read
Essay: Seventy-Four Posts
17 Feb 2026 · 4 min read min read

Dispatches

Notes from the workshop, the kitchen, and the table
Dispatch: Seventy Four Posts, then Zero
20 Feb 2026
Dispatch: Rain, and a Place for the Gear
12 Feb 2026

Stay close to the work