Steve Valdes, Woodworking, at the Blue Moose Art Gallery

Steve Valdes at the Blue Moose Art Gallery

Steve is a retired attorney with no formal training in woodworking of any type (though he sometimes went so far as to read the manuals that came with some of his tools.)  During the pandemic he passed some time by cleaning out his basement. Tucked into various corners and boxes were some tools that dated before his law school days. He wasn’t sure he knew how to use them anymore, but he decided to give it a try. With YouTube as his guide, he tried his hand at making jewelry boxes, using primarily an antique Craftsman bandsaw. The results were abysmal, but he discovered his passion! Today, after countless hours of practice, new tools, and a complete obsession with making beautiful boxes, he creates a wide variety of shapes and sizes of boxes made from both domestic and exotic hardwoods on display here.