Artist and 5th-Generation Woodworker
I come from a long line of builders and thinkers—woodworkers and engineers whose legacy stretches back to the 1850s. I represent my family’s 5th consecutive generation of woodworkers. I grew up with the smell of sawdust and the sounds of tools at work. My father and grandfather were both talented woodworkers, but they were also aerospace engineers. From them, I inherited not just a deep respect for craftsmanship, but also a fascination with science, precision, and problem-solving.
After high school, I spent six years in art school, studying graphic design and illustration. From there, I had a career that ranged from comic art and logo design to book layout and board game publishing. During that time, I moved to Chicago, got married, and started a family. Yet no matter how busy life became, woodworking and sculpting remained constant hobbies.
In early 2024, I was presented with a rare opportunity: to turn my lifelong passion into a full-time profession. It began mostly with restoration and repair of high-end designer furniture—primarily from the mid-century modern era and beyond. It was an extraordinary and humbling education. I had the privilege of working intimately with iconic pieces by design legends like George Nakashima, Charles and Ray Eames, Hans Wegner, Ettore Sottsass, and Jasper Morrison. Surrounded by so much amazing art, I soon started creating my own designs. I drew inspiration from the wide-ranging styles of the masters around me while refining a perspective that felt authentically my own.
Now, I get to design and make custom furniture to suit the unique needs of my clients. I’ve never had more fun, nor found more fulfillment, at work.
My design philosophy is simple: like wood itself, furniture should be equally beautiful and purposeful. Every element must serve the function without compromising the form. I believe ornamentation should never be added to mask a flawed design—if it can be removed, then it must be. To me, a design is only complete when nothing more can be removed. The result should be elegant, minimal, enduring, and always respectful of the natural beauty of wood.