The kind of person who asks for wood for his birthday.
I've been building with wood as long as I can remember, from early backyard forts to trebuchets and street luges. I even asked for a pile of wood from Home Depot for my 8th birthday. After studying mechanical engineering and spending 17 years in tech, I needed a change. With a little nudge from my wife and the serendipity of a PTA fundraiser, I traded PowerPoint slides for hand planes and haven't looked back. Bad Grackle was born from a piece of wood, and the realization that making things with your hands wasn't a hobby. It was the point.
The engineering background isn't incidental. It shows up in the way I approach every commission: precise where it matters, obsessive about structure and fit, unwilling to cut corners on the parts nobody sees. The joinery is tight. The inlays are flush. Every detail is deliberate.
I'm inspired by wood others overlook. Forklift-damaged boards, cracked slabs, pieces written off as waste. These carry a rawness and story worth saving. By refining imperfections, filling voids, and smoothing rough edges I give new life to materials that might otherwise be discarded.
The result is furniture that feels modern yet organic, polished yet honest. Each piece is meant to spark curiosity, invite conversation, and bring lasting warmth and character into the spaces it inhabits.
He combines an engineering mindset and true craftsmanship. We discovered Bad Grackle at the Austin Studio Tour, bought a cutting board, and are now working on a custom commission for a dining table. Couldn't be more excited.
