She was born and brought up in South Africa where she lived till she was 21. From there she moved to London and worked for more than 15 years with The English National Opera touring with them as their lighting coordinator. Being very interested in building and joinery and wanting to improve her joinery skills she enrolled on a course and studied boat building. She is now a qualified timber framer and works with large section green oak timber making solid and aesthetic constructions.
She moved to France seven years ago and feels very well rooted in the community and has no plans to leave. I wondered what reaction she has from other french artisans she comes in to contact with. Her answer 'I am used to working with difficult men and I find good humour and a bit of flirting works well. They may be puzzled to see a girl on site but they soon get over it and working relationships are good.' I asked how she managed all the heavy lifting work and she replied that her background in the theatre had taught her lifting methods. 'A useful item is a 'gin pole' a single point lifting device with a pulley on top. That and a digger and then gently, gently.'
I wondered what she considered her most interesting project and I was interested in her passionate reply. 'A frame takes on a personality as I work with it so I enjoy each project. I have just finished building a 17 metre frame kitchen extension , I enjoyed that. I am in the middle of building a whole house and that is extremely exciting as I have carte blanche on the project. Along with the work I am in the middle of an MSC architecture course on sustainable and responsible building / architecture in energy and the environment focusing on low impact building. I get the feeling that this is one dedicated, hardworking lady with a lot of talent.
For new projects Marian's Company GREENWOOD can be contacted on mobile 06 74 17 68 93 or 0563276491 or marianstaal@onetel.com
