Philipp Hermes - Holz Kopf

Hi, this is Noah Yang here. Founder and Editor of WeOuri. Before we begin with the first story of this new chapter, I feel it is necessary to briefly introduce you to what ‘Maker’s Insight’ is all about.

Maker’s Insight is a branch of our tree where we share the stories and insights of individuals, their philosophies, and the creative backgrounds behind brands that contribute to the fingerboard community in unique ways. To kick-start this new chapter, we invited Philipp Hermes, the creator of Holz Kopf. Philipp crafts outstanding wooden obstacles, incorporating beautiful geometry and design. It is truly exceptional what Philipp brings to the fingerboard community.

Here is the story and insight of Philipp and Holz Kopf.

(NY) Please introduce yourself to our readers!

(PH) Hi! My name is Philipp, I am a 28 years old, self-employed woodturner/woodworker from Germany who runs Holz Kopf.

(NY) Where did the name ‘Holz Kopf’ originate from?

(PH) When starting my business around 6 years ago, I came up with the name and logo during classes at university which I was attending at that time. In a literal sense ‘Holz Kopf’ translates to “wooden Head”, in German it also means “a person who is abstruse“. I choose it because to me personally combined with the logo it represents what I do basically; using my head/brain to build things made out of wood.

(NY) Why did you start making wooden obstacles?

(PH) I started building obstacles in the first place because back in the day I wanted some specific ones for myself. When I started fingerboarding around the age of 12 years old, I could not afford a lot of stuff available at the time. However since I got access to some power tools at home, I started building my own rudimentary obstacles and pressing some wooden decks for my classmates. So fingerboarding was what got me into woodworking pretty much – also since my grandpa worked as a carpenter so I always felt familiar and connected with it.

(NY) Looking at the quality and the design of your obstacles (the ‘Vulcano’, in particular), I can’t imagine how much time and effort you put into making them. Have you always been interested in woodworking since you were a child? Or did it come across your mind after you got into fingerboarding?

(PH) Roughly 4 years ago, so 2 years after opening my woodworking business initially, I got back into fingerboarding and it first started with the idea to develop/work on carbon fiber decks. The skills I learned in the meantime along with access to new equipment enabled me to produce more complex and better quality products.

(NY) Where do you get the inspiration for the geometry and the design overall of your obstacles?

(PH) As a side quest I was integrating on my own version of the legendary ‘morph vulcano’ made by Max Eschenbach in 2013. After a lot of prototyping, I posted some pictures of the final version and got my first orders in for it – that and the fact that I got to sell it at ASI Berlin eventually really motivated and enabled me to try and expand my repertoire more towards fingerboarding.

For the vulcano as already mentioned it is definitely mainly inspired by the morph vulcano made by Max Eschenberger. The geometry to some extent is influenced by the fact that I love woodturning but in general I would say my approach is I try to built things that I would want to use for myself too, and that are in some way or another different from what already exsists.

(NY) Please take us through the journey of creating a new obstacle (from coming up with an idea to the day of the launch).

(PH) It usually starts with a very vague idea or me getting excited about something. That could be a new material I want to use, a new process, shape – pretty much anything.

Once the idea is settled, I continue with rough sketches on paper as well as 3D models to get a feeling for the dimensions and proportions. Finally, I gather all the materials I sourced and start building the first prototypes. Then it is a matter of testing it and doing a couple of iterations and changes. At some point if I am happy with the result I take some pictures of it, edit them, and share them to see how people like it. Since I am also running a lot of side projects besides making fingerboard obstacles to financially support myself, I have to rely on selling my obstacles in order to sustain it. For the most part I do not sell any obstacles directly so I partner with ASI Berlin and Curious Fingerboards for the sales. Because of that, the quantity is mainly small batches most of the times, once an obstacle is “established“ or “approved“.

(NY) What does Holz Kopf and fingerboarding in general mean to you in life?

(PH) Fingerboarding means a lot to me! Because it sparked my enthusiasm for woodworking initially and also enabled me to do it as a profession today. I learned so much from it. It became certainly more than just a hobby for me also due to the fact that the community is just the best! I got to know and meet so many awesome people because of it! Holz Kopf to me means always being up for new challenges, learning new skills and trying new things. I want to be able to enjoy my profession and not walk on beaten tracks.

(NY) Apart from your company Holz Kopf, who are you as a person? What other interests do you have other than fingerboarding?

(PH) Apart from woodworking and fingerboarding, I enjoy physical activities such as bouldering, skateboarding, and going on mushroom hunts to tell a few. I am always down for a game of chess! I also love good food and cooking with friends.

(NY) Lastly, is there anything you would like to add for the readers?

(PH) I want to thank everyone for supporting over the past couple of years, enabling me to work on all these cool and exciting projects! There will be more to come in the future for sure!

Philipp Hermes
Instagram: @holz__kopf

Philipp Hermes - Holz Kopf

Jeramy Hastings - @midnight_arcade