how i got to this point

My dream started when I was 9 years old and I decided to enter the Soap Box Derby in my home town.  The derby required the contestants to build the car themselves.  I built and raced that car.  Though I didn’t win, I went on to build and race two more cars.  The third one I actually sold.

In high school and college I continued to pursue my dream by taking woodworking classes along with my other studies.  However, I did not pursue woodworking as a career path.  Life took me in other directions  but I continued to practice woodworking as a hobby.  My career allowed me to purchase the tools I would need and to take additional classes.

  In 1995, my wife and I went to Penland School of the Arts where I studied furniture design.  This class showed me that I could design my own furniture.  Up to this point I built only pieces I had seen somewhere else.  Shortly thereafter I was commissioned by a local art gallery to build a special, tilt-top table to display large unframed works on paper.  Thus began my second career.

In 2002, I retired and received an offer to do woodworking full time.  I became a cabinet maker - building numerous kitchens, baths and some  furniture pieces.  During this time I learned much about cabinet/furniture construction; door making; drawer construction; etc. while refining my craftsmanship skills with various tools.  After 8 years I decided to go on my own and started White Dove Woodworking in 2010.  I’m doing what I love and using the talents God gave me.