Dean obtained his passion for woodworking from his father. His 9 th grade shop teacher took an interest in Dean’s passion and it was then Dean thought he would like to become a “shop” teacher. Dean taught high school and college level Industrial and Vocational programs for several years but the trend to eliminate such classes in schools, forced him to move into administrative positions.

Dean enjoys designing and building custom furniture, lamps, residential entrance doors and case work. In 2001, Dean bought a 1960s era Delta wood lathe and began his venture in wood turning. On most days Dean can be found in his shop building a custom piece or turning a bowl or vessel. With a general design idea in mind, the excitement begins as Dean cuts into the wood and discovers what nature has given him to work with. Each piece of wood has a story to tell and each final piece is unique from previous works and turnings.