Born and raised in Southern MN, my parents made the move to Phoenix, AZ in 1994 vowing never to own a snow shovel or lawnmower again. As a junior in high school, I began an internship at a local custom cabinet shop for school credit. I was responsible for building custom cabinets, millwork and interior and exterior doors for multi-million-dollar homes in the Phoenix valley. Moving to Tucson for college, I met my longtime friend and mentor, John Kohnke. He hired me to create custom trophy bases, display furniture, and a wide variety of projects with metal, stone, acrylic, wood, glass and paint and lacquer finishes. He introduced me to members of the community, and I built a clientele for my self- owned remodeling company. I specialized in remodeling kitchens and bathrooms and manufacturing my own cabinetry and millwork. John passed away five years ago this fall. I’m forever grateful for what he saw in me and giving me the confidence to attempt almost anything. He would say “someone is going to get paid to figure it out, it might as well be you.”

While in Tucson, I also had the opportunity to build custom aviation interiors for Bomhoff. This introduced me to veneers, composites, fiberglass, aluminum substrates, solid surfaces and a production shop environment. I worked alongside in-house painters, finishers, upholsterers, welders, metal fabricators, cabinet makers, composite fabricators, and aviation electricians. The events of 9/11 devastated this industry, but high-end finishes and extravagant interiors still interested me.

I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the summer of 2004 and went to work for a stair company installing custom staircases and other millwork projects. Stair building was a new skill set I had to learn and while I enjoyed it, after three years in the residential market, I made the move to the commercial side. Joining the Local 1977 Carpenter’s Union allowed me to work on the Las Vegas Strip.

After many years working with wood, I tried my hand at commercial interior millwork. From custom bars and restaurants, panel systems in high-limit gaming lounges and high-end fashion boutiques, I learned additional skills in metal working that I’ve been able to incorporate into my projects.

I’m forever grateful for the professional experience and personal relationships I made over the 20 years that I was in Las Vegas. The craftsmen that I’ve had the privilege to work with and the knowledge they’ve shared has proved to be invaluable in my career path. While I miss the folks I worked side by side with for two decades, I was ready for a slower pace and creative flexibility that leaving Las Vegas was able to provide. 

In the summer of 2022, my wife and I took our 5 th  wheel on a month-long trip through the Texas Hill Country and started dreaming about our next project(s) and where we may like to retire. Purchasing land between Kerrville & Junction, we solidified the plan to get to Texas eventually. Our excitement got the best of us, and we relocated much earlier than had planned. While the property is our retirement “endgame” and a labor of love, we’re thrilled to be part of the Ingram/Kerrville community and are enjoying settling in and putting down roots here.