My Journey
Gunnison National Park, Bow Season Elk Hunt 2022
My journey to Backcountry Turning Co. doesn’t have a defined start, but it does have a defined concept - my love of the outdoors.
Somewhere between listening to wildlife near sunset hunting whitetail in the plains of Oklahoma and glassing during sunrises for elk in the mountains of Colorado, I found my true appreciation for nature and the opportunities it provides for us. Peaceful moments outside the pace of work. Quiet adjournments from the world’s opinions and politics. Only the coolness of the wind, warmth of the sun, and the squirrels’ leaf rustling which always get your hopes up that it might be a buck for once. These are the moments I want to capture.
“My Cherokee heritage played a significant role in shaping the spirit of my company.”
One could say the handcrafting trade is in my blood. My grandfather was a leatherworker and a black powder gunsmith. The marble base he used years back for leather stamping can be seen in my product photography. I still remember the smell of the burnished leather and the various tools in his workspace from when I was a child, which inevitably grew my fascination with any crafting process.
In a similar way, my Cherokee heritage played a significant role in shaping the spirit of my company. In current times, we are scrambling to save the planet, but the Cherokees of times past respected nature’s creation, using every part of the plant and animal harvested. I wanted to preserve and implement natural elements it the respectful fashions that they did.
So while the journey took 34 years to culminate in the creation of Backcountry Turning Co., I hope to share my appreciation of nature and the moments it offers with others through my creations. I’ll do my best to share some of my favorite works in the future, along with the story and meaning behind each ring.
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