Have you ever felt alienated by a culture that values conformity above everything else? As a young carpenter, I knew the feeling well. Every new home I worked on looked identical. There was nothing unique or interesting about the designs…just bland sameness. But I wanted to build homes that reflected the personalities of the people who lived in them. Doing anything less intentional than that felt like a waste of time.

I’d been building carriage doors as part of my custom homes, since roll-up garage doors just don’t fit these kinds of houses. Pictures of these doors on my website got a lot of attention. People across the country started emailing me, asking if I could build them custom carriage doors. But I ignored them.

I didn’t want to build just the doors–it was building the whole house that motivated me. The longer I ignored them, the more these requests multiplied. Eventually I saw that people were searching for something that I was uniquely qualified to give them. Something different. So I started replying to these emails, and building custom carriage doors in my garage for clients all over the country. At first I did it on nights and weekends around my timber framing work. Then, after four years, I knew I was ready to build carriage doors full time. I called the new business Real Carriage Doors.

Along the way, I was drawn to innovate other products, starting with sliding barn doors and barn door hardware. Today, RealCraft builds all kinds of handcrafted doors, hardware, and home accents. And I couldn’t do all that alone. What started as a one-man-show in my garage has become a growing community of craftsmen and craftswomen, artists, and renegades. Together, we’re spearheading a return to craftsmanship. The door is open–I hope you’ll join us.

Have you ever felt alienated by a culture that values conformity above everything else? As a young carpenter, I knew the feeling well. Every new home I worked on looked identical. There was nothing unique or interesting about the designs…just bland sameness. But I wanted to build homes that reflected the personalities of the people who lived in them. Doing anything less intentional than that felt like a waste of time.

I’d been building carriage doors as part of my custom homes, since roll-up garage doors just don’t fit these kinds of houses. Pictures of these doors on my website got a lot of attention. People across the country started emailing me, asking if I could build them custom carriage doors. But I ignored them.

I didn’t want to build just the doors–it was building the whole house that motivated me. The longer I ignored them, the more these requests multiplied. Eventually I saw that people were searching for something that I was uniquely qualified to give them. Something different. So I started replying to these emails, and building custom carriage doors in my garage for clients all over the country. At first I did it on nights and weekends around my timber framing work. Then, after four years, I knew I was ready to build carriage doors full time. I called the new business Real Carriage Doors.

Along the way, I was drawn to innovate other products, starting with sliding barn doors and barn door hardware. Today, RealCraft builds all kinds of handcrafted doors, hardware, and home accents. And I couldn’t do all that alone. What started as a one-man-show in my garage has become a growing community of craftsmen and craftswomen, artists, and renegades. Together, we’re spearheading a return to craftsmanship. The door is open–I hope you’ll join us.