Putting Wood to Blade!
Hello there, I’m Tyler Wayne, the craftsman and designer behind Wayne Works.
I’m a born-and-raised Texan with a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering, and I consider myself extremely lucky to be completely self-employed, doing work that I find challenging, interesting and fulfilling.
During my childhood in Austin, TX, I was incessantly building. I started out with Legos, then deconstructed (and never fully re-built) gadgets in my father’s workshop. In 1992, I had my own “business” selling home-built birdhouses door-to-door from my Radio Flyer wagon.
As a teenager, I was obsessed with vintage cars and sound systems, and I would work on anything with an engine. I took on my first real automotive project in July 2004 — a 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7, which I completely restored and still have today.
In 2010, I graduated from SMU with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, having completed my Bachelor’s degree the year before, and landed a job at Danaher Tool Group in a hand tool manufacturing plant. The job was both interesting and challenging — an engineer’s dream — and I am very grateful for the learning experiences it provided. I was exposed to the breadth of high volume - high mix manufacturing, from cold form heading and hot form pressing, to CNC mill/lathe/profilating and finish processing. It gave me an invaluable hands-on experience that I still apply to my work today. However, after a while it became quite stressful due to the company struture, and I eventually decided to move into the corporate world.
About a year into my new gig, I realized I was simply not cut out for office life. I was too restless, I didn’t feel like I was being challenged, and I hated sitting still for eight hours every day.
Then, in November 2013, we had a freak snowstorm, and I found myself iced-in for the weekend with two of my best childhood friends. They encouraged me to take a leap of faith, and further explore my skills working with my hands.
So, for the next year, I worked nights and weekends creating small, unique pieces, and selling them on my Etsy shop. Eventually, sales and my creativity grew to the point that I decided I was ready to leave my full-time job (and the corporate world) behind.
I began 2015 with mixed emotions: anxiety over leaving stable employment, but also excitement and passion for the business, the work, and most of all the pieces. I’m committed to doing work that continuously expands and improves my skill as a craftsman, and pushes the boundaries of my creativity. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.
