How did I get here?

My journey into woodworking has taken a somewhat circuitous route...

After receiving a degree in computer engineering from Cornell University, I headed for Los Angeles to look for work in the newly emerging field of computer animation. While waiting for that work to materialize, I took a job working for a small set design/construction company.While working at this new job, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed working with my hands (in high school I had worked a number of set construction crews.) I also did a good deal of thinking about my future and decided that I really didn’t want to spend the rest of my life sitting in front of a computer screen.

Soon after that, I set up a small furniture construction studio in a rented garage with a good friend from Cornell. The two of us built a number of interesting (and some crazy) items. Since we were essentially self-taught we learned a good deal as we plugged away on our various projects. The most important thing that we learned, however, was that we really didn’t know what we were doing! At about this time I decided that Los Angeles really wasn’t for me and I decided to head back east. I found a well-renowned furniture school in Easthampton, MA. I applied and got in.

During that year, I learned an enormous amount about all aspects of the design and construction of furniture. We were taught how to tune up, sharpen and use hand tools; joinery techniques, veneering, wood properties and how it moves, finishing techniques and more.

After graduating from the program, I moved to our current Weston home and set up a small studio in our garage. After several years of working in that space, it became apparent that I would need much more room and we began the process of deisgning and building a barn-like structure that would become my workshop. In October of 1998 I moved into the new shop and have been working there ever since.