Tell us a little about your hobby.  

One of my hobbies is woodworking, when I have the time. My woodworking skills have given me the opportunity to build furniture and wood decor pieces from either plans or my own unique designs. I have a woodshop where I keep all my tools to work my craft. I usually purchase the wood from lumber yards that sell it in its raw form. I enjoy working most with hardwoods – cherry, maple, mahogany, oak, walnut, etc. Woodworking allows me to really put my design thinking and innovative skills to work.

When did this hobby start for you?

I started learning to work with wood in high school taking a woodshop class. I had the opportunity to build a chest of drawers in high school and entered it in the county fair, where it took first prize. My dad, who also enjoyed woodworking, had a small shop in the backyard of our house. It was there where he taught me how to work with wood and many of the techniques that I use today. I took the opportunity to work on projects with my dad during the later years of his life – great father-and-son bonding.

What’s something this hobby provides you that applies to your job?

Most of my woodworking projects that I start usually take many months to complete between my work at Wellabe and the time I can allocate to work on the woodworking project. During this time, I find that the woodworking reinforces my thinking in the following business areas:

• Maintaining a creative and innovation mindset – “builder mindset.”
• Strategic thinking – planning, visualizing the end result and executing each step.
• Leveraging creative problem-solving skills and navigating through unforeseen issues.

There is always a sense of accomplishment when my woodworking projects are completed just as when key objectives are completed at work. 

Tell us a tip or fun fact about your hobby.

The fun fact is that you get rewarded by creating tangible objects out of pieces of wood. It is truly inspiring.

A variety of wooden toys Keith has crafted in his shop.

A variety of wooden toys Keith has crafted in his shop.

A variety of wooden toys Keith has crafted in his shop.