About me…
I have wandered through the design, woodworking, and timber framing world for the past 30 years. Throughout my education and career I have had many roles – sculptor, studio assistant, furniture maker, timber framer, designer, marketer, and often I was a mover of very heavy objects.
My formal training is as a sculptor and designer from the Cleveland Institute of Art where I had the honor of participating in the New York Studio Program. I became fascinated with New York City and returned to study architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. During my studies and while working as a studio assistant I learned that really I missed working with my hands – the furniture building and woodworking I did to help pay for school left a mark. I left New York and graduate school to re-think my education and was given the opportunity to teach foundation level design and manage a small fabrication shop at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
While teaching I discovered a magical place called The Heartwood School and enrolled for 3 summer courses. I studied with Will Beemer and fell in love with timber framing – the hands on work, the scale, the connection to craft, history and tradition all appealed to me. From those summer classes at Heartwood I began my journey learning the craft of timber framing. I started my work experience by hand cutting frames in a small shop and then moved on to dismantling and repairing barns in eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.
My first solo timber frame was a small porch for the renovation of my parent’s house. With a bit of press about the frame and presenting at a local festival I slowly found other clients and took on larger local projects. One fateful day I stopped in at Pioneer Millworks to pick up materials I ordered for a local project – and somehow I found myself in the interview room for a timber framer position at New Energy Works. I took the leap to move to a production timber frame shop where I gained practical experience in the shop and field. I eventually moved into the design and engineering department, starting with learning HSB CAD and Hundegger software, then managing the small engineering and design team for timber frame production.
The intense production schedule and some life challenges collided and I found myself burned out – but I started riding my bicycles again, getting both my body and mind fit, and after some soul searching I moved to a small town in Vermont to begin consulting and working with individual timber framers, timber frame companies, engineers, architects and home owners.
On this journey I have enjoyed working in marketing, graphics, carpentry, woodworking, and as a studio assistant to artists. My passion is problem solving – this could be blending the sculptural elements of design with woodworking and heavy timber construction to create a unique structure, or perhaps it is helping clients refine and tell their story with their website, or it might be helping a small shop take take their relationships and design to the next level.
I was born in the Cleveland, Ohio area but I have studied, lived, and worked throughout the US. I fell in love with Vermont after my first visit and made it a goal to live there – and along the way I met my wife and we started a family. In 2018 we were planning a timber frame addition to our lovely tiny home in Burlington when my wife had the opportunity to accept a career changing position in Switzerland. We relocated outside of Zürich in 2019 and are working to make Switzerland our forever home.
Our family is learning German and working on integrating with our community. We play in the mountains whenever we can – hiking, skiing, paragliding, and soaking up the magnificent world at our doorstep.
I maintain my relationships with my US friends and clients pushing pixels as an independent designer and consultant. My clients range from homeowners, small timber frame craftsmen, large timber frame shops, architects, engineers, and small businesses.
I work hard to build and maintain relationships through my work. What often starts as a ‘project’ can turn into a lifetime relationship as a client, colleague and friend. If you value relationships, attention to detail, and how all the pieces fit together – please read more about me, have a look at my services to see if I may be of help to you, your team, or your project, read about what clients and colleagues have to say about working with me, and feel free to reach out to contact me.