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Questions & Answers Q. Any other woodworking mentors. A. Other than the ones I’ve mentioned, I guess I’d have to go all the way back to my high school woodshop and Mr. Storley. All four years I was in high school I was the teacher’s aid in the woodshop. Mr. Storley was someone who could make you think about what you could do with power tools. That was probably when I began to believe that I could actually make a living out of woodworking. On top of that, he was just a really funny guy and I enjoyed the whole learning experience. So, those men were the ones who taught me my craft. They’re my biggest influences. I’ve worked around a lot of great people, but those are the key players. Q. Once you get a project, what’s the process like from your point of view? A. Well, for most projects I spend about half my time thinking about it and half my time working on it. The thinking part is up front. That’s where I visualize the project and determine how it will look in the end. I also need to figure out some of the processes. I need to understand how it is all going to fit together. Something that’s well-made and elegant is usually simple. But often I have to go through a design stage, where it’s complicated and perhaps there are too many moving parts. I’ll refine the design, simplify it and in the end, I have a more elegant solution to the problem. It’s like some of the other arts…good music, good acting. The end result needs to look and feel natural—just the way it should be. Q. What kind of tools do you use for design? A. I have a really nice drafting board that
I use. If I really want to see the project and work through some details, I may
do an actual full scale layout in my shop. I might do a plan view from the top
and an elevation on the wall. When I’m designing cabinets, I’ll make
storyboards. I’ll draw a physical plan view that details the intersections,
showing all the doors and drawer fronts. This gives me a good visual
representation of how the finished project will look. If it’s an entertainment center or a hutch or something on that scale, I usually do a drawing. It’s not unusual for the owner or the contractor comes to me with plans and then I can build it from there. Q. How much do you want the customers to be involved in the design process? A. Hopefully they’re very involved. The more the better. I think it’s important that there’s good communication between the architect or designer, the builder and the customer. I especially like to speak with the person who is going to live with the work. If it’s something with doors, I like to know whether they are left or right handed. In a kitchen, I need to know where the dishwasher should go. How tall do you want the counters? Things like that. I’ll certainly give them my input and advice based on my experience, but in the end, it’s the customer who is going to live with the project. Q. What opportunities do they have to see the process along the way? A. If they can, they are more than welcome to come and see what I’m working on. If that’s not possible, I can send photos of the progress. I’ve done it both ways. Q. What are your plans for the future? A. I’m very interested in building custom furniture…chairs, tables, dressers, cribs, entertainment centers. I’d like to showcase them on my web site and ship them to customers wherever they may be. I have a lot of experience designing one of a kind pieces and I’m very interested in making some unique items. I can make them to my specs or I can create special pieces on order. I really enjoy doing both. When I’m building something to someone else’s design, it gives me an opportunity to match their vision and hone it down until it works just right. When it’s my own work, then I have complete freedom to make things that work, just the way I want. |
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