BlO: DAVID MACKENZIE

I was bom in Ottawa in 1953. I came west as a young man and have made Pender Island my home for the last decade.
My earliest recollection of woodworking was in my father's shop in our basement, where I used to make model ships and jewelry boxes for my sisters out of my dad's scraps of cedar.

Today I still enjoy the feel of making things. I love building and designing one of a kind pieces of furniture, primarily from solids and occasionally laminates. I prefer the old world approach to joinery and believe it to be the key to longevity in a piece of furniture. I've been inspired by the masters like Nakashima, Maloof, and Krenov and trust my own style is evolving with each creation.

I've been commissioned to build everything from deluxe cigar boxes and cradles to fine cabinets and shoji screens and my chairs have traveled around the world in international exhibitions.

I've been a professional woodworker for twenty-five years and am still as passionate about my craft as ever. My other passions include my parenting responsibilities to my boys (the best), my family and friends. I love to surf, skurf and snowboard and any kind of boating.

I feel grateful to God to have a skill that gives me such pleasure and to be living in paradise. Whenever I cut a piece of cedar, the smell takes me back to my dad's shop and I see my sisters' faces smiling with the joy of having received something made with love. When I can satisfy a customer in the same way, I am content.