High Pass Woodworks produces high-quality contemporary furniture that our customers can use as part of their daily lives; using careful design, select materials, and meticulous construction.
Every piece is designed to incorporate natural wood movement. Great care is taken in selecting lumber for color and grain. Joinery is of the highest quality. Every piece is constructed with the careful attention to detail that only comes from an experienced craftsman.
My Woodworking Background
I have over 35 years of experience in woodworking, designing and building furniture, and working in the commercial end of the industry (architectural woodwork). In 2018, I opened my own shop to focus on designing and building furniture.
My first job in woodworking was as modest as they come. I worked on the assembly line at a Thomasville Furniture factory. After a year of that I was able to get a job at a small kitchen cabinet shop and after a couple of years I got a job at a high-end architectural millwork firm.
It was during this time I started subscribing to Fine Woodworking magazine which was then only a couple of years old. To those who were not there at the time it’s hard to over emphasize the profound influence that magazine had on a generation of people interested in doing high-end woodworking. This was pre-internet and the information contained in the magazine was not readily available from any other source. Every issue had photos of some of the best work in the country. I looked at that work and thought to myself that’s what I want to be doing.
Before too long I talked myself into the idea that I was ready to run my own place. There was a shed behind the house we were renting. With a table saw, a couple of routers, a drill, and a bunch of hand planes and chisels, I was open for business.
Looking back it’s hard not to shake my head at how naive I was. The furniture I built during that time was, and still is, a source of pride. But I knew nothing about estimating and cash flow and it made for some difficult times. The siren call of the steady paycheck was too loud to ignore and I shifted to the commercial architectural woodwork industry.
During my time in industry, I was involved in many interesting and challenging projects. In addition to working in the shop I learned technical drafting, estimating, and project management. I also continued to design and build furniture on my own time. I always thought that at some point, I’d get back to designing and building furniture full time, and now I have.
In addition to being a woodworker, I am also an avid cyclist. After many years of trying to go as fast as I could I decided to do something completely different. I have taken six solo bicycle trips, each 30± days long, coast to coast or from Canada to Mexico, as well as riding to Alaska. This has given me the chance to see much of the extraordinary diversity and beauty of this country, both people and landscapes. I cannot overstate how much these trips have meant to me.
The name of the business came as a result of these trips. At this point I have ridden over several dozen of the big mountain passes out west. And it seemed to me that the range of emotions you go through when you’re going steeply uphill for a couple of hours are like a microcosm of your feelings as you work your way through a difficult woodworking project. You start out at the beginning feeling confident but a little nervous. Somewhere along the way there’s a crisis of confidence or two. But you keep pushing forward and when you’re at the top of a “High Pass” or complete a difficult piece of furniture, there’s a wonderful sense of satisfaction in having pushed your limits and succeeded.
Of course, the analogy is not perfect. When you reach the top of a High Pass on the bike, you have a fun and steep 15 mile downhill on tap. When you complete the difficult wood working project it’s time to don the dust mask and spend two days cleaning up your shop.