I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1967 and moved to San Francisco (along with everyone else at the time) to study Zen under Suzuki Shunryu Roshi. During that time, by chance, I landed a job in the workshop of the great Richard Gatti, cabinet maker and restorer. After Suzuki Roshi's death, I moved to Kyoto to continue my studies of Zen and the arts. Life was good and very interesting for me there, so I ended up staying for 45 years, teaching in University and studying under various Zen masters, craftsmen and the renowned calligraphy master Morita Shiryu. For this reason, most of my designs and artwork now have at least some oriental influence. During those years I also collected the large number of Japanese antiques that I now keep at my house in Vermont, where I was born. I tried starting a small woodworking operation in Cebu, the Philippines, but the impediments to doing business there turned out to be insurmountable. The shop and my precious lumber supply are still there, however. I rough out some pieces there and then bring them here to complete.