Though the desire to create had always come naturally, the mediums I have been drawn to use have changed over time. Growing up, our kitchen table served as a place to draw, paint, invent, and build things. Our garage walls were filled with every craft and project that my mom would facilitate and hang proudly for years. Now, the kitchen table serves as a place to plan and the garage is filled with saw dust and scrap wood. 

An admiration for my Dad’s work ethic and time spent in Grandpa’s workshop stirred in me a desire to make meaningful things with my hands. While taking classes at Rochester University, I began making and selling wooden American flags. My family helped me plan and refine a reliable building process to make assembly efficient as more people reached out, and I enjoyed learning from their different approaches of solving problems and techniques of using different tools. What began as an impromptu project had turned into a growing skill and passion for creating.

As time and opportunity allowed, I began creating my own designs and taking custom commissions. Every piece involves creating a hand drawn template and every cut is forethought in regard to what wood type and grain pattern will complement the design and highlight the natural beauty and colors of the wood. 

One day, I hope to teach workshops and host events in the community under a new branch of SparrowWoodworksLLC, called “The Carpenter’s Bench”.