How I got these calluses, sawdust in my hair and all this glue on my shirt.

I grew up in Winchendon, Massachusetts, a furniture making town. I was told repeatedly by teachers and parents to get a good education or I’d end up being a woodworker. So I got a good education, an English degree. Now I’m a woodworker with an education. In 1982 I was working with emotionally disturbed kids in San Francisco when I started part-time at a boat building school. I had done some sailing and figured the only boats I would be able to afford would be fixer-uppers, so I had better learn how they were made. I found The Center for the Wood Arts in San Rafael, which has now become The Arques School in Sausalito. I loved everything about the school: the work, the talk, history and the products. We built wooden sailboats, rowing boats and all the accompanying gear. There were a surprising number of folks there who were refugees from white collar jobs. During the late twentieth century, a common perception was that blue collar work was synonymous with either failure or a lack of education. Thankfully, this perception has changed somewhat. During the last thirty years, it has become acceptable once again to use a skill to make a living. I moved back east to Portland in 1983 and apprenticed with a cabinet shop and a high end renovation and construction outfit. I’ve been on the inside of a remarkable number of the nicer old homes on the Portland peninsula and many others in the general area. After eight years, I set out on my own and have been in business since 1992. I have always been attracted to wood: the color, the grain, the texture. I think the love of natural materials is a fundamental human tendency. I spend my days trying to make nice things for a fair price. I don’t think there’s a need to explain the desire to build something beautiful, and if it’s useful too, well even better. I squirrel away unusual, particularly beautiful, or interesting pieces of wood and have a loft full of them—eventually they find their way into a project. Some I mill myself on the Alaska chain mill. Others are culled from demolition jobs, old boats and houses, and even firewood piles. Local sweets I like are spalted maple and apple, orchard woods like pear and peach, also honey locust and hop hornbeam. My Family I live on North Gorham Pond on the Presumpscot River. I have a shop at the house with a southern exposure and good natural light. My wife is Jeanne Disciullo-Carpenter and we have two daughters, Solange and Celeste. Jeanne teaches French to Falmouth elementary students. Solange is in Gorham High School and Celeste in Middle School. Once in awhile we get up to Quebec, and every year we’ll camp somewhere in Maine or as far as New Brunswick. I find it a lot easier to drive 5 hours north than 5 hours south. As a family, we’re a pretty active bunch. Jeanne runs with our huskador Belle, and Solange runs track and cross country. Both girls play lacrosse and Celeste plays field hockey. I ski in the winter, nordic and downhill, my favorite being skijoring Belle. Spring brings white water and running, and getting back on the bike, both road and trail. In the summer, I’ll canoe and kayak and row and sail the dory. This year I did two triathalons. In the fall is hunting and then we start over. Presumpscot Woodworks | North Gorham, ME | 207 - 892 - 8399