I was born in October in Bloomington, Minnesota, in the year of our Lord 1951. My family moved 9 months later to Long Beach, California. That is where, 6 years later, I was introduced to wood in its most popular & useful form, building homes in Belmont Shores, CA. My best friend’s father, a hulk of a man, was a one-man construction crew. His son and I played on the Beach and “Ran the Jetties” just for fun until he honked his trucks horn, and we went running. He would show us his progress and I was struck by his skills & strength. I can still fondly recall the smell of the construction site. Great Memories!
My relationship with wood was put on hold for Baseball & photography and girls! Once out of High School, I attended Orange Coast Junior College where I immersed myself in every woodworking class offered. I owe the OCC staff my life-changing decision to become a woodworker. As my firstborn came along, I began building a cabinet shop in Big Bear, California. In the early 80’s I thought I’d try my hand at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Malibu California. My craft was creating and selling exotic wood Walking Sticks, Staffs, and Canes. Imagine my surprise, they sold like hot cakes! This gave me the amazing opportunity to explore the incredible world of Exotic Woods from every corner of the earth.
I was and still am a kid in a candy store every time I frequent my favorite wood vendors. Now, I want to relieve anyone who might be anxious that I am responsible for destroying the “Rain Forests”, all the species I use are planted and grown on plantations designed to spare the “Old Growth” trees of all species.
I retired from the Commercial work in 2018 and have stretched myself to design and construct Craftsman era furniture and casework along with some very modern designs of my own. Wow! 73 years in just a few paragraphs!
