As a kid, I built birdhouses and doghouses with the hand tools my dad had. He was not particularly handy. This combined with his health issues led to my being the home handyman.

My college major was Electronic Engineering and after graduating, I went to work as a computer and electronics systems engineer for IBM working on aircraft systems for the Air Force and Navy. To “relax” I got back into woodworking, as it allowed my brain to take a break from being up to my armpits in equations, math, and programming, and focus on my senses of sight and touch. My accumulation and upgrading of tools continued apace with my growth as a furniture and cabinetmaker.

A career change to academia, gave me more time to develop my side occupation. My work has been primarily Arts & Crafts styles and Shaker furniture, although my most recent foray was into Windsor chairmaking. Scraps from those pursuits became wooden toys and banks as well as bases for a line of found object lamps following my mother’s advice – “lf you don’t know what to do with it – make it into a lamp”.