An art degree from Michigan State University and building her home were springboards to following her dream of furniture making.

After searching for ears for the right mountain property, Judy built her home, from design to framing, electrical and plumbing, flooring and tile, to interior decorating. Now as a furniture maker, she views every aspect of a piece as important at the next.

She puts it this way:

“In art school, I was drawn to things that were utilitarian as well as beautiful. I had a discussion once with someone who argued, ‘But a painting is functional even if it’s only for its beauty.’ I don’t disagree. But I want to be the creator of things that people touch and put their glass on, and store their book and tissue in the drawer of – in a very pragmatic way. In the end, use engages us. That’s how I want to engage: by taking an extraordinary living part of nature – wood – and turning it into something people have a use for every day of their lives. I hope their children will want to inherit them. It’s thrilling to choose and handle awesome, figured wood and then to make something out of it. A great furniture design depends on beautiful wood, and then will only be expressed effectively by thoughtful execution. Once the design is drawn, I devote hours to choosing the right wood and that’s just the beginning to producing fine furniture.”

Judy’s work is in: