I started my journey in woodworking innocently enough in 2002, taking an Intro to Woodworking class at my local Woodcraft store. I made a simple serving tray and was amazed by what I was able to do with my hands in just one afternoon. I followed up that class with more classes at a local High School Woodshop that offered night classes. My girlfriend was a teacher at the school and turned me onto the classes. I was loving my new found hobby and enjoying building things and the creative outlet.

Well then life happened. I had also bought my first house in 2002, a 1905 build in Cincinnati, OH and that's where the fun began. Over the next 4 years I learned everything there is to know about home repair and DIY...okay, maybe not everything but it felt like it! I had gotten more into the DIY world than the woodworking world and I wasn't so much making things as I was fixing things, but I still felt a pull to make, to create, to build.

In 2005, that sweet teacher girlfriend of mine became my wife! In 2006, we moved into a much newer house...a 1917 fixer upper. We spent the next 3 years replacing cabinets, tiling, wiring, siding, painting, and patching that house into a thing of beauty. All the while I was working with my tools and honing my carpentry skills, but neglecting my finer woodworking skills in favor of fixing this and building that (see what I did there?). Our 1st son came in 2008 and we moved out to the suburbs into a 12 year old house...I was done with leaky pipes, cracked plaster and squeaky floors. 2 kids later we had settled into life as parents and my woodworking was a sporadic hobby I dabbled in every few months.

Then things changed. It was 2013 and I had the opportunity to move back home to Nashville, TN where I grew up and after a lot of deliberation, we took it! After getting settled into our new home (this one was actually built this century!) I discovered this thing called Instagram. Yes, I'm lame for just discovering Instagram in 2013. But I was blown away by the woodworking community there. I poured myself into my woodworking. I started by building some storage and some shelves for our closet...then I found palletwood. I made several state signs, some coat racks, and a few other home decor items. I was hooked again!

These days I spend my free time after my day job looking for locally salvaged and harvested wood, building, and sharing my journey on social media and my blog www.fixthisbuildthat.com. The wood comes from offcuts from local woodshops, free wood listings on Craigslist, and even from big logs left behind Goodwill...true story. I love taking wood that has been forgotten and discarded and redeeming it into something beautiful. There is a wonderful and compelling story behind each piece I build. Every one of you who buys my work becomes part of that story and I'm grateful for that gift!

God bless!

Brad