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What do you do for a living?

I run a violin shop and work on violin, viola and cello restoration. I basically get the best sound out of each instrument.

What do you do to feel alive?

My work is very much a part of that, but outside of my work it would be when I’m spending time with my wife in nature. I also enjoy being in the mountains.

A lesson you learned from your mother:

Always be patient. If a job is worth doing it’s worth doing it well. Never do anything halfway.

A lesson you learned from your father:

Always be good with money and he would also say “It’s not what happens to you that’s important it’s how you deal with what happens to you that matters.”

What’s the most beautiful thing you saw today?

So many different types of beauty. I see different types of beauty in different things all day long, but nature and wood really speak to me because I work with it all day. I find beauty in the flames in the wood on the back of the violins – the way the light reflects off of them. I have a viola here in the shop that is from 1750 – it’s older than our country – and I find that beautiful.

What’s one thing you wouldn’t want anyone to take away from you?

My wife

What thought would you like to never have again?

The thought of failure

If you could become an inanimate object what would it be?

A violin

When do you feel most loved?

When my wife and I are together doing nothing and we’re happy

If your life were to end tomorrow what would be left undone?

To restore that viola from 1750

What global issue would you take on if you didn’t have to worry about how?

Environmental conservation

What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you?

I don’t have a whole lot of scary things happen in my life.