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“God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left electricity in the clouds, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation.” -Thomas Monson
Put simply, the exhilaration of being creative and the feeling of accomplishment that often accompany hard work bring happiness.
James Baker
Research // Development Manager
Meet James Baker, known as Goose around the shop for his fun-loving personality. He’s our Research & Development Manager. Born and raised in the West, James is an avid outdoorsman, fisherman and hunter. One of our favorite stories about James is the time he sold his beloved Jeep to buy his wife’s engagement ring. Happy First Anniversary, James!
How do you describe your job? I am the new product manager. I manage our hardgoods and softgoods production. I make sure we are designing and building new products, and that we get all the kinks out of the prototypes before we sell them. It’s a collaboration of everyone’s ideas and we try to use each good idea."I love taking all the raw elements I see in nature and bringing them indoors."
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love everything about wildlife and I really enjoy watching documentaries and NOVA. I get out quite a bit to fish and hunt, to camp and spend time with my wife. I also like building things around the home, doing yard work and fixing up our space. We’ve made tables and shelves and done all sorts of landscaping.
How did you get into building?
I was mowing lawns as a kid to make extra money, and a guy in the neighborhood noticed my work ethic and it went from there. In high school, I worked for a builder helping to expedite projects and eventually it turned into a full-time job. I’ve always been artistic. My dad is an artist, and I feel like I inherited that talent to draw and be artistic, but I don’t like to just sit and draw. I like to be doing something and working with my hands, so building and designing is the perfect job because I can still be an artist.
Where do you find inspiration?
Being outside brings inspiration, like watching a sunset or sunrise. I love taking all the raw elements I see in nature and bringing them indoors. In regard to specific projects that I’m working on, I get inspiration from other people. I like to look at constructive criticism and feedback and build from there. I talk to my mom, my wife, the people in our showroom, and I ask them what they like or what they’d change. Where my creative talent really shines is when I’m trying to fix something."Remember that you don’t have to please anyone else when you’re creating. Take Picasso- he didn’t care if people liked or didn’t like what he painted, he just stuck to his own thing."
What advice would you give someone who wants to be more creative? I think a lot of people are too hard on themselves and give up too quickly. Don’t give up! Keep studying and working on it. Remember that you don’t have to please anyone else when you’re creating. Take Picasso- he didn’t care if people liked or didn’t like what he painted, he just stuck to his own thing.
