>> I WORKED FOR DESIGN AGENCIES ALL AROUND THE CITY FOR 15 YEARS.

I REALLY ENJOYED IT, BUT AT NIGHTTIME I HAD ALWAYS BEEN SCULPTING AND PAINTING, IT'S KIND OF JUST BEEN MY NATURE.

AT ONE POINT, YOU KNOW, AS IT GOES YOU KIND OF -- YOU CHANGE AND YOU EVOLVE AND YOU START THINKING OF A DIFFERENT THING.

IT WAS KIND OF TIME TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

SO I BOUGHT AN AIR STREAM AND I -- I MOVED TO FRANKLINTON.

I JUST PARKED IT UP AGAINST ONE OF THE WAREHOUSES.

IT WAS A RISK, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT BECAUSE I COULD ACTUALLY FULLY INVEST MYSELF IN IT.

I STILL DID SOME FREELANCE FOR A WHILE TO KEEP GOING UNTIL I HAD ENOUGH WORK TO SUSTAIN T I DID A LOT OF PAINTING AND SCULPTING AND IT WAS NICE TO BE FREE.

MONEY WAS ALWAYS TIGHT AND I HAD TO FIGURE THAT OUT, BUT IT WAS A GREAT TIME.

AND THEN THE COMPANY EVOLVED AND BECAME, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT IS NOW.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I STARTED IN AN AIR STREAM.

I LOOKED LIKE -- I'M SURE -- THE CRAZY GUY ON THE HILL.

LIKE WHAT IS HE DOING?

NOW WE DO SCULPTURE BUT WE ARE A JOB SHOP SO WE DO OTHER THINGS.

EVERYTHING FROM HUGE TABLES, WE'VE DONE HUGE CONFERENCE ROOM TABLES, SIGN JOBS.

ANYTHING THAT HAD A LITTLE BIT OF AN ARTISTIC DESIGN BENT.

WE DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT'S ALREADY THOUGHT OUT OUR FLUSHED OUT.

THEY COME TO US AND WANT TO DESIGN.

THE COOL THING ABOUT US IS WE DESIGN AND BUILD IT.

IT GETS THE LITTLE NUANCES BECAUSE WE ARE A PART OF IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

AS FAR AS THE AESTHETIC OF IT, OFTENTIMES WE LIKE TO SHOW THE LABOR.

SO SOMETHING I HEARD A LONG TIME AGO WAS IN THE '50s IT WAS WEST COAST AGAINST THE EAST COAST.

THE WEST COAST IS ALWAYS -- THEIR STUFF IS VERY POLISHED AND COLORFUL, SHINY, PLASTIC, THE EAST COAST IS MUCH MORE LIKE SHOW THE NAILS, SHOW THE LABOR.

I ALWAYS LOVED THAT.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT, WELL, I LIKE PEOPLE TO SEE THE LABOR THAT GOES INTO IT BECAUSE THIS TAKES COUNTLESS HOURS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

WE DID A HUGE SIGN JUST OUT OF NAILS ONE TIME.

I MEAN, IT WAS 5,600 NAILS POUNDED INTO A WALL.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT ONCE YOU SEE IT IT'S LIKE, WELL, SOMEBODY HAD TO DO THAT.

TO ME THE LABOR IS -- THE PROCESS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE PRODUCT.

BUT IF I CAN PULL OFF BOTH WHERE YOU SEE A REALLY COOL PRODUCT AND THEN YOU'RE LIKE, WOW, THAT MUST HAVE TAKEN A WHILE TO DO IT, I THINK THAT KIND OF HITS ALL CYLINDERS FOR ME, YOU KNOW.

HAVING THE EXPERIENCE OF MY OLD WORLD, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH CLIENTS AND KNOWING HOW YOU HAVE TO TAKE WHAT THEY SAY AND TURN IT IN AND INVOLVE IT AND GIVE IT BACK TO THEM WHAT THEY HADN'T NECESSARILY THOUGHT OF.

ONE THING I REALIZED OVER THE TIME IS THAT YOU'RE NOT JUST HIRING A DESIGNER, I'M AN ARTIST.

SO I DO HAND SKETCHES AND JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THE HAND SKETCHES STILL FEEL VERY MALLEABLE.

LIKE WHEN I SHOW A CLIENT THE SKETCH WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AND FIGURE IT OUT.

IF I WENT RIGHT TO DIGITAL AND EVERYBODY DOES THIS NOW, THEY SHOW A 3-D ALREADY FINISHED LOOK THERE ISN'T MUCH ROOM FOR DISCUSSION.

SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPED ME TO GO FROM SKETCH ONCE WE GET THAT NAILED DOWN I MIGHT EVEN SKETCH ONE MORE TIME AND THEN WE GO INTO THE DESIGN PHASE.

AND THEN THE BUILD PHASE.

SO, I DON'T KNOW, THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT THAT WE COULD REALLY TALK ABOUT IT.

OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE KIND OF PICK US BECAUSE WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A SAME FLAVOR OR, YOU KNOW, THEY KIND OF LIKE OUR AESTHETIC IN A WAY.

I REALLY LIKE THE OVERSIZED OBJECT THING.

WE JUST DID A SLINGSHOT.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THAT IS IT'S A HUGE SLINGSHOT BUT IT HAS THAT MISCHIEVOUS KIND OF KID-LIKE NATURE.

YOU FEEL CREATIVE OR LIKE A KID WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT.

THERE WAS REALLY SOMETHING CAPTIVATING ABOUT THAT PLUS IT WAS INTERACTIVE BUT IT WASN'T INTERACTIVE IN A DIGITAL WAY, IT WAS INTERACTIVE IN AN ANALOG WAY.

YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO BE SHOT INTO THE RIVER.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE THAT THOUGHT CAME FROM FROM THE SLINGSHOT?

>> NO, I THINK PROBABLY AFTER A NAP.

I WAKE UP WITH A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS THAT COME AFTER A QUICK NAP.

I THINK THAT'S WHERE IT CAME FROM.

MISFITS BY NATURE, THE IDEA THERE HAS JUST I HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH A TREE.

SO SINCE THIS ONE WAS ALSO IN THE ARTS DISTRICT, IT WAS A TREE MADE ALL OF FIREWOOD.

QUITE ELABORATE, IT WAS ALL SCULPTED TO BE FIREWOOD.

AS YOU GO UP THE TREE THERE'S NINE STAINED GLASS BIRDS, THEY ARE MISFIT IN COLOR, MISMATCHING COLOR AND THEY ALL LIGHT UP FROM THE INSIDE AND THAT WAS THE ARTIST AND THE FREE WAS THE COMMUNITY OR FRANKLINTON AND HOW IT GREW UP.

IT'S NICE TO TAKE A MATERIAL FROM ONE THING AND USE IT FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

THAT'S THE ARTIST'S WAY, YOU TAKE SOMETHING COMMONLY SEEN AND FIND A NEW USE FOR IT.

I LOVE THAT.

THAT REALLY GETS ME GOING, THAT PROCESS.

PILOT DOGS HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 1950s WHEN FRANKLINTON WAS ROUGH, ROUGH, ROUGH AND THEY ARE WALKING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD WALKING THEIR DOGS AND SOME PRETTY CRAZY STUFF.

SO I BASICALLY DID A MOCKETTE, I TOOK IT DIRECTLY TO THEM AND RIGHT AWAY THEY JUST SAID, YES, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED SO WE DID A BRONZE PIECE, IT WAS A FULL GUIDE DOG AND MAN WALKING THE DOG AND IT WAS FULL SIZE, I HAD PUPPIES GOING -- IT WAS REALLY NICE.

AND IN A WAY IT WORKED, IT WAS SO AUTHENTIC.

I THINK I WAS BUILT FOR THIS, JUST BECAUSE IT'S HOW MY MIND WORKS.

I'VE TRIED OTHER THINGS AND THEY DON'T NECESSARILY MATCH UP LIKE THESE DO.

THIS IS JUST THE WAY I THINK SO IT'S NATURAL.

I REALLY LIKE THE TEAMWORK ASPECT OF IT.

I REALLY ENJOY THE FACT THAT, LIKE I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO IS JUST A FANTASTIC WOODWORKER AND WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT NEEDS TO DELIVER THAT.

AND I KNOW THAT CRAFTSMANSHIP AND THAT EYE IS GOING TO GO INTO IT.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T DO EVERY PIECE ALL THE TIME, WE CERTAINLY DO A LOT OF SCULPTING COMPONENTS, BUT IT IS GREAT TO BUILD A TEAM OF DIFFERENT TALENTS TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER.

THAT I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED THAT PART.

THAT'S INSPIRING.

THE WHOLE SLINGSHOT WAS BUILT WITH ALL FRANKLINTON PEOPLE, EVEN THE FOUNDATION WAS DUG BY ONE OF THE FRANKLINTON NEIGHBORS.

THERE IS A LOT OF COMBINATION OF OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE EVEN WHAT WE HAVE WORK.

I DON'T NEED EVERY PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU JUST HAVE JUST THE NECESSITIES IT ALMOST IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION, TOO.

YOU KNOW, I DON'T -- IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ELABORATE TO MAKE ELABORATE.

YOU KNOW, YOU CAN START WITH VERY SIMPLE THINGS, AN ANGLE GRINDER, A WELDER AND SOME METAL AND IT'S WHAT YOU SEE.

IT STILL FASCINATES ME THAT I CAN GO FROM A SKETCH TO A FULL-SIZE SOMETHING.

YOU KNOW, THAT PROCESS IS ALMOST MAGIC SOMETIMES.

THAT WE WENT FROM NOTHING BUT A THOUGHT TO, YOU KNOW, EIGHT MONTHS LATER IT'S STANDING RIGHT THERE.

JUST IT BLOWS ME AWAY EVERY TIME.

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