How I Work
My aim is to create useful objects that also provide lasting aesthetic value. I believe, as Ray Eames once said, that “what works is better than what looks good.”
I collaborate closely with my clients to ensure their functional requirements are met and to explore possible materials and forms. Technologies such as CAD renderings, personalized client web pages, digital photographs of pieces in production, and email enhance client communication, which is essential to the success of every project.
My Background
I earned a BFA in sculpture from the University of Michigan School of Art in 1985. Like many modern furniture designers, my primary influences include Charles and Ray Eames and former faculty of the Bauhaus School, as well as artists like Donald Judd and Joseph Beuys. I apprenticed with furniture maker Peter Beal, and then founded my own design studio in 1987. I live and work on an old farmstead outside of Ann Arbor.
I have collaborated on larger projects with local architects Betsy Williams and Margaret Wong. I have also provided technical assistance for both art and architecture faculty at the University of Michigan, most notably assisting Peter Osler in Rome with his installation for the Fellows’ Annual Exhibition at the American Academy.
References
My commercial clients in the Ann Arbor area include:- AUT Bar
- George Smillie, DDS
- Mezzanine (formerly Atys)
- Salon 344
- Second To None