I have been building furniture for 40 years and have been seriously dedicated to the craft for the past 22 years. As a child my grandfather kept a supply of short wood and nails and provided some "special tools" (ones that I could not ruin) and I spent a lot of time when I visited in his shop building things. I have always had a creative streak and took shop and art classes in high school, and studied art at the University of Colorado and received a BFA.  Back then I was painter and sculptor. Every thing had some wood component.  Some of it was furniture in disguise.  After I graduated, raising a family was the focus and so I dropped the painting (more or less, I dabble) and concentrated my creative energy on furniture.