Dr. Cindy Petersen is a retired university professor of 30 years. Her love of wood began as a child while creating structures from “Tinker Toys” and later building a tree house in the back yard of her Pacific Northwest home. Her very mechanically inclined father encouraged her to use tools and be the “helper” for many of the family projects. Her mom was very skilled in finishing the projects with paint, varnish, and oils. From these roots one of Cindy’s first jobs while attending college was as a sawyer, jitney driver and packer at a local sawmill. She prepared lumber for the kiln, graded, sorted, cut, assembled, and assisted with the finishing of products. Ultimately, she bought an Alaskan Yellow Cedar 42-foot boat where she wrote her doctoral dissertation and lived aboard for 15 years. Her skills continued to grow as the cedar and mahogany spoke of their needs for ongoing refurbishing and maintenance. After moving off the boat to 3.5 acres in the South Bay over twenty years ago, the ability to build a shop became a dream come true and the various buildings have now evolved into supporting the voices of the wood.

Patty Mitchell is a retired elementary school principal of 20 years whose love of wood began when growing up in Tennessee and climbing young birch trees to ride their branches in the wind. Having lived in various states and overseas, her fascination with wood grains, their sensuality, and hidden mystery grew into a passion. Trees and wood speak to her soul. Not quite a tree hugger but definitely a wood lover, she is eager to share the hidden beauty in wood with her clients.