Profile

I was born in Ohio and began working with wood at a young age. As a teenager, I apprenticed with my uncle who was a furniture maker. I moved to Olympia, Washington in 1989 to attend The Evergreen State College where I studied agriculture, entomology and furniture making. I worked with a custom homebuilder during college and started my own woodworking business in 1996.

My life changed significantly when I began to integrate the inspirations of my life and work. It began when I was given a copy of James Krenov’s “A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook” by my uncle. I strongly related to his message of doing the work you love with great passion. When I started at The College of the Redwoods fine woodworking program in 2000, I was surrounded by this passion for the work and it pushed me to do my best. The woodworking program exemplified the relationship to the work that I was searching for.

I have carried this passion into my work at my shop in Olympia where I continue to explore. When I moved back to the Northwest after finishing the woodworking program, I was fortunate enough to marry my good friend and co-conspirator Nikki McClure. We have worked on many projects together since, culminating in our largest project so far, the birth of our son Finn.

To describe the way I feel about my work, I can only say that I love the medium of wood; its colors, textures, and smells. I love making. I love the meditation of the work. I love making functional objects that become a part of another person’s life. It is a continual story that begins with the woodworking and carries on as the object connects with another life.