Enjoy this interview I had with my husband and business partner, Nick, the Owner/Founder of Tall Pine Timber Frames. We will be celebrating three years of Tall Pine Firm this year!!!!
How did you actually start - what was the process of going from idea to execution - walk us through some of the main steps that allowed you to launch your business? Tell it to us as a story – you had the idea, then what happened? What was the next day, hour, month or year like? What did you have to figure out, look into, setup, etc in order to move beyond the idea phase and actually start the business and actually start your first timber frame?
From the beginning of my journey in timber framing, I was always interested in so many aspects of the craft. Over time I came to feel that a timber framer was to understand all aspects of timber framing - design & engineering, tree species, timber conversion methods, layout and cutting of joinery, raising the timber frame, and the other trades that follow the framing. I was fortunate to be around some people early in my learning process who ran their shops, which seemed like a common approach to this craft. Inevitably, when something interests me I want to understand it in its entirety. With timber framing and in any craft this is a lifelong learning process. Realistically, it is more about the process and journey than some form of destination. We are creating products, but it is the actions, the steps along the way that define it.
I had been working as a joiner in a couple of different shops. Looking back on it, two of those shops feel like the tale of two cities. In one shop we built the entire structure; from the foundation, the timber frame, and all the finish work. While it is enjoyable to have your hand in so many different aspects of the project, I started to consider how much of my year was spent working on the timber frame. What percentage of my hours was dedicated to the craft of timber framing? The next shop was focused on only the timber frame. I became what I like to refer to as a “shop rat”. This experience provided me the opportunity to work on perfecting my layout and cutting skills.
During this working period, I was returning to the Heartwood School to take additional courses for professional development. I wanted to be involved in the design process. I realized at this point that I had come to a personal crossroads. I loved the work in the shop, hands on tools. I was also interested in the design process. Working for another company, I felt I had to choose. I also wanted the frames I was working on to reflect the continuation of the traditional approaches to timber framing. During this personal reflection period I had the opportunity to design and build an addition for a friend, which I worked on weekends while still timber framing full time for another company. This project served to be the catalyst for my decision to leave the shop I was currently employed in and seek to open up my own firm. The vision was to be involved in the entire process - designing, procuring timbers from the forest, and cutting and raising the frames. If there is a way you want to work then make it happen.
A prospective client came along and the prospect of this one project gave me the support and motivation to open my shop officially. Ironically, this project did not come to fruition, but in the process of starting the company, I had already lined up my next project. I did not have a physical shop space when I began and the first project was completed on the client's property. At that point, I was prepared to work anywhere. I had looked into renting a small piece of land where I planned to set up a tent and work in the field, all hand tools, and no electric power. At that point, it didn't matter to me. Whatever the circumstances, I would make it work. As it would happen, a conversation with a friend led me to someone who owned several properties, one of which was a 248-acre farm where they breed and board thoroughbreds. He had a shop space near the back of the property and it felt like a good decision. I have had my shop there for almost 3 years. It also led to stewarding the 33 acres of woodland on the property where we procure timbers for our projects. Sometimes you need to look back on the progression, from framing in an open field to stewarding 33 acres with 2 full-time employees and a mill. It's a wild ride, but I am enjoying every turn.
2. What were some of the most unexpected problems you've faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues? Maybe you can tell us the backstory of one of those unexpected problems/issues so we can fully understand the context, circumstances and what it must have felt like at that moment for you.
This is an interesting question. Like everything in life you need to have a plan. How do you get somewhere if you don’t know the direction? But, I can say with certainty that each day has some aspect of the unexpected. That is part of the experience of owning a business.
Forest to frame - I had been introduced to this approach by two of my mentors, Jack Sobon and Neil Godden. For anyone reading this who is unfamiliar with the term it is the process of working timber right from the forest, creating your own supply of timber to utilize in your projects. You become involved in the entire process, literally from forest to frame. It is immensely satisfying and a unique approach where available materials can influence the design process. Local hands and local materials!
I was driven to work this way and had a client sign on a project that would be forest to frame. At the time I did not yet have access to woodlots to procure timber for this project. Necessity is the mother of all invention - a great motivator. I had learned there were 33 acres of woodland at the back of the property where I lease my shop space. After a few conversations and walks in the woods with my landlord, I presented a plan to steward these woods. He accepted and we started implementing our work harvesting timber from these woods, which relies on a continual and sustainable yield from the forest. We aim to maintain a woodlot for future generations.
The entire team at Tall Pine completed a course at the Heartwood School - Converting Trees to Timber. The course includes certification in Game of Logging, tree identification, woodlot management, harvesting timber, chainsaws, hewing, and milling. If anyone reading this is interested in learning about harvesting their own trees for timber frames, I highly recommend taking this course. Also, spend a lot of time in the woods. There is so much to learn. I consider it returning to the source in many ways.
You have a building designed and to bring it into the physical you have to go all the way to the beginning, take the first step of many. It is a lot of work and the nature of it is anything you need you make. Sometimes it feels like creating all these gears and working to line them all up perfectly so the mechanism runs correctly. Many days of questioning how it will work out, all the while doing your best and working diligently to make it a reality. The work is rigorous, but immensely satisfying.
3. Can you share a story with us from back when you first started learning to timber frame. Paint the picture for us. when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.
My brother-in-law and I ran a cabinet and architectural woodworking shop. We were looking at building an exterior structure, a relaxation space in the woods. Both of us had been studying traditional architecture and woodworking and felt drawn to creating a structure based on traditional carpentry approaches, using all hand tools. As we did some research we discovered the tradition of timber framing. I had been in older timber frame structures before, but when we started doing preparations I felt everything fell into place. Timber framing was it for me. I had been considering the direction my work was taking and where I saw myself in the future. Timber framing seemed to check all the boxes for me.
I began my timber framing pursuits attending courses at the Heartwood School, originally located in Washington, Massachusetts. My first courses were taught by Will Beemer, Jack Sobon, and Neil Godden. From the beginning I felt those people instructing and sharing their knowledge were pointing me in the correct direction, a link in a long chain of traditional practices and culture. I was still working full time in conventional carpentry with most of my projects being renovations or custom finish carpentry. While working full time, I was taking classes at Heartwood, I joined the Timber Framers Guild, was reading everything I could find on timber framing and traditional carpentry, and participating in community builds, events hosted by the Timber Framers Guild. I was possessed - this was the direction of my professional pursuits and I was also coming to the realization that timber framing was a lifestyle. It changed my life and I loved it.
I was actively looking for full time employment in the field. I had come to a fissure - I was standing in our kitchen and I remember saying to you [Juliana, my partner] I was going to turn down all the projects I had lined up and pursue timber framing full time. The time had come and I felt like it was now or never. There would be nothing else. I remember you responded "ok, honey, let’s do this!" An hour radius was set and I was sending cover letters and resumes to timber framing shops, as well as visiting in person more locally based shops to introduce myself and express my goals to be working in the craft. Based on a referral from Jack Sobon I visited a local shop and hand delivered my resume. They had been considering bringing on a full time shop joiner and would let me know. I waited a couple days and the phone call came in. It was not the right time and they would not be hiring. However, the day before this call another timber framer was visiting the same shop and sharing the frustration that they could not find the right help…my resume was slid across the workbench and I was told to expect a phone call from this other framer. Sure enough, later that day I was talking to this gentleman about visiting his shop for an interview. By the end of that next day I had secured a position in his shop, working full time as a timber framer. It was another step in the lengthy pursuit of my vision.
The ups and downs of ambition are real and at the end of the day you have to keep going. As a friend once said, ‘failure only exists when you give up’. Keep pushing, do everything you can to achieve a goal. And recognize that you will not get there alone. It was a combination of my own efforts, the support from you, [my wife and partner] and the consistent guidance from people that are mentors for me professionally and personally. If you have a question and an answer is not given, put forth more effort to find that answer for yourself. People are in your life to provide support, you are the one who has to do the work. Sometimes you just need the opportunity and it is what you do with it that counts. Be prepared.
I have always felt so supported in the timber framing community - it is a special place with people who are open to sharing their experiences and knowledge. Like so many traditional crafts, it is passed down from person to person. The truth is that if something is not shared, it can be lost. What is the point in that? I feel I am always learning; this craft is a lifetime of learning. At this point I am excited to share some of my experiences and if I can help guide someone in their path, great.
Thank you all for reading for this blog/interview!
Any more questions for Nick?
Reach out if you're looking to learn more about timber frame projects!
518-769-0115
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