One of my first memories is the smell of pine saw dust.

My dad made his living through many of my formative years making and selling scroll saw woodwork. I grew up immersed in not only fine wood work but also cabinetry and various renovations to local homes. As I grew, I learned, and by high school graduation I had accumulated over a decade of woodwork knowledge and experience. After graduating I enlisted in the Navy. There I learned about striving for excellence and attention to detail, skills I apply now to my all of artistic creations. It is my belief that it is better to do something once properly than fix and replace it down the road.

My time in the Navy brought me to Hawaii, a place where I fell in love with the land and the culture while continuing to grow and gain experience with my woodworking. While living here in Hawai’i I have learned about two tenets of the Hawaiian people. The first of these is the idea of the Aloha Spirit— a way of being as expressed through kindness, unity, agreeableness, humility, and patience. The second tenet is the idea of Ho’okuleana -to take responsibility. The Hawaiians believed, and I agree, that it is each of our kuleana to ensure that our hearts and minds are in coordination and express it in our actions.

I believe that those very actions form and define the communities we live in. It is my dream to forge a better community here and now by helping represent and perpetuate the Aloha spirit by the interactions and creations I will be offering through my business Wooden Meraki.

Ethos-

Aloha, Excellence, Attention to Detail