I was born in Belize, a tropical country, but moved to Nova Scotia in 1984 as a young boy, with my parents. My parents had a large family and farmed dairy in small scale in NS. I grew up in a Mennonite Community in Hants County, having 10 brothers and 2 sisters, with me being the 8’Th child. During my school years where I learnt English as a second language and German as a 3’rd language in a private Christian School, I spent a lot of time after school in the kitchen helping with the cooking and baking. Like most of my brothers, I took a job as a Carpenter and got very familiar in the housing industry. Since my father and uncles were known as some of the best woodworkers in their communities, I was always fascinated by the fine woodworking I saw possible. I and my brothers built a lot of our toys from wood, which enhanced our skills.
Since we got married, we are blessed with 8 children (teenage to 2 yrs.). We have a busy home with the next generation growing on to possibly help continue building the business. A few of the older children already anticipate joining me in the workshop. I run my business on our home yard, so I can be available more, to help raise our family. My wife is a full time home maker as you could imagine, so that makes our own kitchen a testing facility for our products.
We are part of a Mennonite church and community group of approximately 300 members where we work together to support each other. I am serving in multiple community boards, to help support our local church and community.
