About Me

From my earliest memories, I’ve been fascinated by how things work, relishing the challenge of taking them apart and putting them back together. Woodworking is in my DNA, inherited from my Grandfathers and my Dad, who were all a combination of skilled fixers, tinkerers, farmers and builders. I’m grateful to have inherited this maker mindset. What excites me most about woodworking is transforming a design from paper, a photo, or a digital concept into a tangible, real-world creation.

I feel like my creative journey started on my Grandpa Hoffman’s farm, on the edge of the charming town of Mount Vernon, Iowa. I remember building things out of scrap wood and random things I found out in the machine shed with him. As I got older, helping on the farm taught me the value of hard work and hands-on creativity. I also remember building stuff with my Grandpa Noska who was a machinist. He just had a knack of being able to build anything if you get creative enough.

Trying to describe what my Dad has taught me in my lifetime would be a different novel all its own to fully explain. My Dad truly can fix anything. From repairing cars, or troubleshooting any problem over the phone, to hand-crafting a roll cage for a 9 second drag car, building a super efficient greenhouse for his 400 tomato plants or designing and installing his own 20kWh solar array. He is my “tech support” for basically everything. I’m grateful everyday for him passing that mechanical aptitude down to me. He also engrained in me to never do anything half-assed, if you are gonna do something do it the right way…don’t cheap out and cut corners.

Combining all these mindsets have been a driving force in my creative and life endeavors.

In High School, my parents ventured into the sign-making business, where I discovered my passion for craftsmanship. I would help fabricate signs out of wood, learned how to weld aluminum and steel. I taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator and learned a little bit about the art of graphic design. The most challenging aspect of the sign business was learning the art of bending neon signs where I eventually became our shops sole neon bender. The process of making neon signs involves carefully heating and bending glass tubes into the desired shapes, one wrong bend would lead to disaster and starting the whole process over from scratch. The completed tube would be filled with inert gases like neon or argon. When electrified, these gases produce a vibrant glow. This challenging process taught me to think outside the box and approach problems from new angles, seeing the whole picture and ultimately helping me to better understand how to bring my own creations to life.

After the sign shop closed, I found a new path as a locksmith, a profession I’ve dedicated myself to for the past 16 years. The skills I honed as a neon bender and the mindset of meticulous analysis and creative problem-solving has been invaluable in my work as a locksmith. However, I missed the creativity and building, which led me to revisit my love of woodworking. Over the years I started acquiring tools and some equipment to turn my woodworking hobby into something more substantial, several where my Grandfathers or estate sale items.

One of my favorite projects to date was a changing table dresser I built for my niece when she was born. I started designing and building it months before her arrival, aiming to create something functional for her as a baby and useful as a dresser as she grew up. Despite having never made any furniture before and using hand-me-down tools from both my grandfathers, including a tiny Craftsman table saw from the 1960s, the project turned out perfect. I made a few mistakes along the way, ones only I would critique, but overall, it was a success. She still uses that dresser to this day.

Whether it’s crafting a custom piece of furniture or designing a unique sign, I hope to bring a blend of creativity, precision, and dedication to everything I do. I’m excited to share my journey and creations with you.

Ultimately, I am still a hobbyist… I am in no way a professional, I still love to learn how new things work and hope that never ends.

—Chris