Something big is happening at Hardwood Projects.
Later this year, we’re expanding north.
Fitty and his family are heading to Tweed Heads, creating a second base for Hardwood Projects and opening the door to projects across the Tweed Coast, Byron Bay and Gold Coast markets.
But this isn’t Hardwood Projects leaving Canberra. Far from it.
Canberra is where Hardwood Projects was built. It’s where Fitty has spent his life, where our crew has grown into the team it is today and where we’ve been trusted to create some pretty bloody special things.
Now we want to build on that foundation.
For Fitty, that means asking what Hardwood Projects could look like five, ten or twenty years from now — and whether staying within one market will get us there.
So we sat down with him to talk about the move, the opportunity he sees up north, the kind of work he wants Hardwood Projects to become known for, and why his family is ready for an adventure.
Let’s start with the obvious one. Is Hardwood Projects leaving Canberra?
Nah, but we’re expanding. Canberra is home to Hardwood Projects. We’ve built a really solid business here and I’ve got an awesome crew doing some incredible work. I’m really proud of what we’ve built.
But I’ve also been thinking a lot about what the next stage of the business looks like.
Canberra is a smaller market. There are only so many projects that are the right fit for the kind of work we want to do, and the seasons can limit certain types of work as well. So eventually you start asking yourself whether you’ve hit a bit of a ceiling by only operating in one place. For me, this is about taking what we’ve built in Canberra and seeing how much further we can take it.
Why Tweed Heads?
When I look at Tweed Heads and then extend that out through the Tweed Coast, Byron Bay and up towards the Gold Coast, there’s a hell of a lot happening.
There are a lot of new homes going up and a real appetite for considered, sustainable building. You’ve got people investing in homes where they really care about the materials, where they came from and how the finished place feels. That opens up opportunities for the kind of recycled timber work we specialise in.
I see a real appreciation up there for sustainable homes, natural materials and architecture that connects with the environment.
That’s us. We’ve always loved recycled Australian hardwood. We love giving old timber another life. We love big architectural pieces where the timber isn’t just stuck on at the end to make something look nice — it’s part of the design.
So when I think about the future of Hardwood Projects, it feels like there’s a market up there that’s bloody well aligned with where I want us to go.
Does expanding north change what happens in Canberra?
Not at all. I’ve got a really good team here. Part of getting Hardwood Projects to this point has been building a crew I can trust to produce work we’re proud to put our name on.
The idea isn’t Canberra or Tweed Heads. It’s Canberra and Tweed Heads.
I see it as there’s basically a highway connecting the two places. I can head back down for the right Canberra projects. The boys can come north when we’ve got something big happening. Eventually there could be opportunities for people to move between both.
That’s what makes this possible. We’re not starting again, we’re extending what we’ve already built.
What do you want the future of Hardwood Projects to look like?
I feel a massive pull to do more with traditional timber framing. Big, solid pieces of Australian hardwood, put together with traditional interlocking joints — mortise and tenons, pegged connections — rather than relying on a heap of metal hardware. It’s proper old-school craftsmanship in my eyes. The structure is the feature – it’s real wooden artistry.
You see these incredible traditions of timber joinery all around the world, particularly in Japanese carpentry, where they’ve developed incredibly durable – and beautiful – ways of sustainably locking timber together. There are more and more carpenters in Australia giving it a big push and moving our version of the style forward – I really want to be a part of that.
What is it about traditional timber framing that grabs you?
It’s everything I love about working with timber. You’re taking these massive pieces of natural material, often that are older than you, and you’ve got to understand them properly before you even start cutting into them. You need to read the grain, understand how the timber wants to move, and work out how each piece is going to come together.
Then when everything comes together, there’s a real simplicity to the finished structure, even though what’s gone into creating it is anything but simple. And when the proportions are right and you’ve got these beautiful big hardwood beams exposed, it changes how a space feels.
If that’s the dream, what’s been stopping you?
Space – It’s as simple as that! To do this stuff properly, you need a bloody big workshop.
Traditional timber framing lends itself really well to prefabrication. The dream is that we can have these huge pieces of timber in the workshop, cut and fit all the joinery under controlled conditions, essentially build the structure there first, then break it back down.
It can then go to site almost like a massive flatpack.
That’s where I want Hardwood Projects to go.
So tell us about this workshop you’ve been dreaming about
I want to buy a bit of land somewhere around Tweed Heads, and build a bloody big shed!
I want enough room where we can have those huge hardwood beams laid out and actually build these structures properly. I also want the flexibility and space to still make a table or a door or some weird little bespoke thing when something interesting comes through. The workshop just gives us the ability to go bigger without losing the smaller craftsmanship that got us here.
There’s a family dream tied into this as well, isn’t there?
A hundred per cent. I’ve lived in Canberra my whole life, my kids were all born here. But as a family, we’re all itching for a bit of an adventure. And I’m enormously grateful that my job is providing us the opportunity to go out and find one!
The kids are getting older, we homeschool, and community is becoming more important as they grow up. We want them making connections, and we want to find a community that lines up with how we’re trying to live as a family.
It’s a sea change, but it’s not about escaping anything. It’s about going towards something.
Is that what attracted you to the Currumbin area?
Living as sustainably as possible is a massive thing for me. We really want to surround ourselves with as many people as possible who care about how they live, so we can learn as much as possible.
Living at the Ecovillage at Currumbin will give us a chance to settle into the area, find our community and work out where we actually want to put down roots.
Long term, we’d love to find our own block of land with enough space for our growing family and the workshop. That’s the picture in my head, anyway!
Will the move change the materials you’re working with?
That’s actually one of the things I’m most excited about! As I’ve said, I’ve been in Canberra my whole life, so I’ve spent years learning how timber behaves here. And Canberra can be brutal! You’ve got frost and extended wet periods, then it can go bone dry and bloody hot. Timber responds to all of that.
Heading north means I’m going to have to learn again.
And we hear you’re pretty excited about working with Spotted Gum?
I love Spotted Gum! It’s always been one of my favourites. We haven’t used it as much for certain applications here because of how it responds to Canberra’s conditions.
But it seems to be used a lot more up north, where you’ve got that moisture in the air more consistently. I’m really interested to get up there and understand that properly.
Then there’s everything else — what are the local builders using? What species are performing? How does the humidity change things? I want to get my head around all of it.
I’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years, but moving into a different climate means there’s going to be stuff I don’t know. And I actually bloody love that!
So where do you want Hardwood Projects to be in five years?
I’d love to have two really established, strong arms to the business.
Canberra, with the crew continuing to produce the quality of work we’re known for here.
Then a presence around Tweed Heads, Byron and the Gold Coast where we’re doing these bigger recycled hardwood projects and pushing further into traditional timber framing.
I’m not really interested in growing revenue for the sake of it, or having a bigger crew just so we can say “we’re bigger!”
I want to build a business that gives the boys opportunities. I want us doing work that genuinely pushes our craft. And I want to build something that gives my family a bloody good life as well.
So, when does the next chapter begin?
Later this year. Fitty and Hardwood Projects will begin meeting with architects, builders, designers and homeowners soon, understanding the northern climate and taking on the projects that genuinely suit what we specialise in.
Meanwhile, the Canberra crew keeps doing what it does best.
We’ve built something solid here. Now it’s time to give it some room to grow.
Canberra to Tweed Heads.
Hardwood Projects is expanding.
Have questions? Drop us a note anytime.
Oracle Tree