People We Love: Chris
Chris built our block cubbies in the yoga room and most recently sanded, smoothed and stained our bench seats so no more sticking! It feels nice and cozy thanks to his eye for tone and color. Chris has been in my life since 2019 and he is incredibly humble about his craft so I am even more excited to share his work with you today. Chris makes beautiful live edge furniture and creates custom art frames. Below is from a conversation we shared a few years ago about how he got started and what inspires him now.
From Chris: Seeing my dad build something or fix something with his hands and “save the day” was kind of a big deal. Learning how to not to rely on anyone else to take care of our home left a major impression on me. As a skateboarder from the time I was 10, we used to watch videos and saw some interesting ramps. My brother, friends, and I began building ramps we saw on VHS videos and having a dad as a carpenter couldn’t be any better. Skating the ramps that we built enabled us to learn… we could only imagine ramps in our mind, then we began to see them on videos, and eventually we learned the skills to bring our imaginations to life. This was the start of my career in building skate parks professionally for 20 years which led to me building homes and making furniture.
While my day job is project manager for home renovations (funny his current job is with a company called Zen Development), I truly enjoy getting in my garage and creating. It is rewarding to have some alone time, my own time while listening to good music. Looking at a piece of wood that’s heading for the burn pile and knowing I can bring something back to life, not everyone can do that and that is when I feel most inspired. My favorite way to create is to look at the wood and see how it wants to be brought back to life. Custom orders are fun, but getting to create with cutting, sanding, painting, choosing a special base or finish- that is when the magic happens for me.
What makes me most proud of what I do is that the things I have created (a new addition on a home, a porch for a family, a redesigned bathroom, a custom dining table, etc)… these things are still standing. Getting to create a piece of furniture that gets handed down, that’s rewarding. In a world that is constantly evolving and changing, I get to leave something that will still be here long after we are gone.
You can find Chris’ work at Westside Market on Augusta Road. He’s booth 634. It’s looking a little empty right now but he’s hard at work in his garage adding new pieces soon. Below are a few of his custom projects and his sidekick, Maggie.
