The first time I stood at a saw I needed the assistance of a milk crate, knees bumping the workshop bench while my grandfather guided my hands. He didn’t just teach me how to cut wood—he taught me how to slow down, how to measure twice, how to fix a mistake and make it better. Those lessons in patience and problem-solving have lived in me ever since.

Years later, stationed in San Diego, my wife and I lived in a small apartment with a cheap, collapsing coffee table from a big-box store. I remember the moment it broke and I handed her the pieces and said, “I can do better.” I bought a board and a small saw, built a coffee table on our balcony, and sold it to a someone the same week. That first sale wasn’t about profit so much as promise: the money bought a few more tools, the next table brought another order, and our balcony quietly turned into a neighborhood woodshop. Each piece I built carried something of that first lesson—care, intent, durability.

Every move with the Marines brought change—and opportunity. After a permanent change of station to New Orleans I graduated from balcony projects to a proper backyard shop. Orders grew from friends and neighbors into commissions, and my work found space in six shops along the Gulf Coast. We learned to balance long hours with weekend family life—my wife juggling schedules, cheering on each small sale, and keeping our first two children fed and patient while I sanded through the night.

Then life pivoted again. After another PCS to South Bend and an injury that led to medical retirement from the Marine Corps after eleven years of service, I made a decision: woodworking would be more than a part-time passion. It would be our livelihood. With the structure and discipline of a military career behind me and the hands-on craft I’d learned as a boy, I committed fully to making furniture that lasts.

Today Barred Owl Woodworker is a one-man shop rooted in those same values my grandfather and father passed down: patience, respect for materials, and thoughtful problem-solving. Every piece I build—whether a high-end dining table, a fitted cabinet, or a built-in—begins with a promise to our customers: it will be made to last. I choose woods, joinery, and finishes that endure daily life—meals and homework, guests and small hands. I design for real families, because my wife and I are one. We now have four children, and our home is the happy chaos of school projects, family dinners, and late-night stories. We know what furniture must withstand.

When you commission a piece from Barred Owl Woodworker, you’re not buying mass-produced furniture—you’re investing in a story and a relationship. I work with you—measuring, sketching, and adjusting—so the finished piece fits your space and the life you live. I bring over a decade of hands-on experience and the discipline of a veteran—attention to detail, pride in workmanship, and the integrity to stand behind every build.

We build for the long haul. We build for the family that gathers at the table, for the kids who climb into bed, for the heirlooms that one day become the things your grandchildren remember. My wife and I raise our four kids with the same intention: choose what matters, invest in quality, and care for it so it lasts. That’s the promise in every dovetail, every hand-sanded edge, and every careful finish.

Barred Owl Woodworker: handcrafted furniture and built-ins inspired by a lifetime of learning, disciplined by service, and made for family life. If you want a piece that will stand up to years of use and be part of your family’s story, I’d love to build it for you..