For me design has always been about physical production; the pleasure of creating contrast between dark and light, large and small, rough and smooth, and of course the joy of working with all senses against and with materials is an important part of being in the world.

Prior to studying design at the University of Florida in the 1980s my friends and I renovated a sawmill in Entrup (see Google Map on the left), a village outside the small town of Lemgo, Germany. During this time I also created a series of realist paintings and surrealist drawings that provided a welcome refuge from the stuffy social scene in town. To relish the renegade status I lived with my partner (now wife) Miriam Zach in a farm house commune of eight like-minded individuals, then moved into a small hamlet of converted circus and construction trailers across the street, and continued to sharpen my three-dimensional skills while working as a shade-tree mechanic on Citroëns and Renaults (primarily out of necessity because their engines and frames were easy to work on but also because they were inexpensive vehicles that we could afford to drive—and repair).

While living in Entrup I was also working as a manager’s assistant for an orphanage in Wiembeck, near Lemgo, Germany. The manager taught me many skills I still use in my current design/build work

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