FAQs
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I like to create a collaborative effort with my clients. I ask my clients to locate images of things they like and share them with me. I get to know what my clients desire. I want to bring the client's best ideas out in the open. Once I understand the client's highest vision for the project, that's when I'm ready to turn that concept into reality. I know my process (and my prices) aren't for everybody, but it works for me because my clients get what they want. Those who take part in my process get a bit more than they bargain for. They get to see their dreams come true. That's why my motto is "A Quest for Perfection. A Mind for Service."
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I studied under master builders employed by my father, in his company, Exclusive Decorating Service. That was back when painters mixed their own paint colors and stylized walls before the term "faux" was an acknowledgment of artistry. "It was a glorious time."
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I had expensive taste when I moved out on my own. I wanted a Teak wood platform bed, which cost $3,999 in 1980. My father owned Exclusive Decorating Service. I got training from employees of his to build a platform bed out of pine as a practice piece. A friend purchased that practice bed. The next bed I made was from more expensive plywood and wood stock. Another friend bought that bed. This time, I felt like trying something extravagant, so I built the platform bed I wanted, except I veneered the bed in Vermillion Wood from Africa, commonly known as Padauk. When yet another friend offered to buy that bed (I didn't sell, but) I knew that I was onto something. I've been building custom furniture ever since.