Celebrating Others' Work: Kevin Jones, Doug Kiser & Mark Lane

I've had the good fortune to meet a lot of other artists, designers and craftsmen (and women) over the past couple years. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a few of those folks' - friends and acquaintances new and old - with this post. Hopefully, none of them mind me putting them in the limelight for a bit:

Kevin Jones does all kinds of photography, but I think his passion seems to lie in capturing the spontaneity and energy revealed in screams, sweat and spit during the live acts of touring and local punk rock and indie bands. I've also been lucky enough to have Kevin take photos of several of my pieces of furniture (i.e. the coffee table at the top of this page, among others). He also does portraiture and other event-related work. Check out some of his work on KevinAndrewJones.com. Rumor has it Kevin's also not a bad framer and drummer, and he's catching up with me in the woodworking department too.

Over the past year Niz and I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Doug Kiser and his wife Geej. Quite honestly, Doug's a more experienced and talented woodworker than I am, and he brings a background in cabinetry and interior design. I feel fortunate that Doug's been willing to share feedback, skills, resources - and even his workspace once or twice - while not making me feel like an amateur or total ass. Doug's a full-timer who does it all - furniture design and construction, cabinetry, kitchens and bathrooms and more. I'm also looking forward to seeing more of Doug's paintings soon. You can see Doug's work all over town, including Secret Penguin headquarters, Film Streams and Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance. And if you're lucky, your own house. Doug's website is dkiser.com. 

Very recently Niz introduced me to Mark Lane, who has been designing and building furniture for quite some time, but just recently launched a full-fledged business, Mark Lane Custom Furniture. Mark draws inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, but puts a modern spin on it. I'm looking forward to checking out Mark's shop one of these days, and possibly helping him find a way to get his new thickness planer down the stairs. 

I know all three of these guys are going to keep pushing themselves forward in their respective businesses, and as they do so, hopefully their creativity, feedback and success will push me forward as well.

- Peter -