I was eight years old and I wanted a toy boat to float down the creek running through the back of our property in western New York.  My family was not wealthy enough to spend money on things as inconsequential as a toy boat.  So, I headed out to the barn, grabbed a couple of discarded pieces of wood left over from various projects around the farm and knocked them together with a couple of nails.  My first woodworking project was complete.

     Floating my boat down the creek held my interest for about two hours.  My love affair with woodcraft has lasted nearly fifty years.  That passion has expanded to include designing custom pieces, restoring old furniture, renovating damages items, and giving new life to discarded items I have accumulated over the years – what is now known as repurposing or upcycling.