Work Philosophy & Biography

My life experiences and 25+ years working in the construction industry have shaped how I approach building fine custom wood garden architecture.

My growing portfolio of work shows my dedication to combining craftsmanship and artistic touches with superior construction techniques. But at the heart of my work is a simple philosophy -- which is best expressed in words ...

 

Spend Your Day Doing What You Love

It is my love of being outdoors in nature and working with wood that guided me to choose my profession, and then specialize in building exterior structures. Yes, I've done bathroom and kitchen remodels, and I am really good at tile work -- but I love working outdoors every day.

 

Use Your Gifts & Talents to Excel at What You Do

I get to develop and use my best skills to create things I am proud of. In my work, I get to use my eye for detail and affinity for wood when I hand select every piece of wood I use. My sense of proportion and an intuitive improve-as-you-go process means I can innovate the design at each stage in the building process.

Create Things Which Are Functional, Beautiful and Well Built

My design and building philosophy can be summed up in three words -- beauty, simplicity and durability. The simplicity and beauty come, I think, from the time I spent in Japan while in the Marine Corps. And the durability -- I guess that comes from the Corps as well. I dislike things that break easily and do not work right every time. And my desire to build things well feeds my curiosity about why and where structures fail.

 

Provide Good Value & Delight Your Clients

I really enjoy helping my clients find their inspiration in magazine clippings, design books and vacation photo -- and then transform their ideas into a physical structure. And I like doing it at a reasonable price so they get good value for their investment and are delighted with the outcome as well as the building process.

 

Share Knowledge & Insights With Those Who Need It Most

As you can tell from this web site, I enjoy sharing my knowledge and helping my clients and web visitors become well informed. In addition to woodworking, I also love to share ideas and information about ...

• History: I am a true history buff and WWI is one of many historical periods I enjoy chatting about.
  
  
• Warriors: Having spent six years in the Marine Corps and a couple of years making medieval Japanese armour in the SCA, I enjoy the martial arts and the ideals of bushido. Evolve - Create - Protect sums up my life philosophy so far.
  
  
• Traveling: I spent a few years traveling around Europe as a teenager with my parents, worked in the Aalborg Zoo, and spent several months stationed in both Japan and the Philippines. Now, I love to hike in the local mountains and am always interested in places to hike, eat good Mexican food and browse used bookstores.
  
  
• Healthy Foods and Diesel's BARF Diet: I'm always interested in trying out the latest healthy foods. And sharing how well Diesel (the half dead puppy I rescued from Home Depot) has done on the Bones and Raw Food diet.

 

A Few Photos

On site Supervisor I love animals and the family pets usually come out to check out the work site -- although this one decided to make it his full time job to supervise the deck building.

Japanese Samurai Armour I enjoy history so much I started a part time business to create historically accurate armour (evolution-works.com) for use in events which recreate medieval history (better known as the SCA or Society for Creative Anachronism). In addition to Japanese (Heian to Tokugawa period) armor, my partner and I also made Persian and Chinese period armour.

Decorative Art Room Screen In my free time, I also enjoy creating more artistic projects -- such as this three panel screen depicting a killer whale cruising through the depths of the ocean.

Hiking in the Mountains I love being outdoors and like to go for a couple mile hike in the mountains whenever I get a chance.

Diesel as a Puppy This is a photo of Diesel a few days after I rescued him from a cardboard box left in the parking lot of the local Home Depot.
Diesel a few Years Ago As you can see, he grew into his paws and thanks to the BARF (bones and raw food) diet -- became a 115+ lb moose. And yes, he was a true carpenter's dog - he loved to chew scrap pieces of wood.
Diesel Now Diesel checking out the neighborhood through a screen of leaves; he now loves to chase squirrels and lizards in Heaven.

Permission is granted to anyone who wants to
use my work for inspiration outside of the LA area.