Walt Woolf is a life-long craftsman who began his journey designing and building as a young boy in his Dad’s in-home basement workshop. Much of Walt’s inspiration still comes from his affinity for working with his hands and mind together. Additional key influences stem from his experiences living and working in some of the most beautiful and rugged landscapes in the world as a river guide and Outw
ard Bound instructor. Walt happily led expeditions and personally explored the mountains, rivers, desert canyons, and inland salt waters of the western, southwestern, Pacific Northwestern and Alaskan wilderness of the United States and around the globe. His work intends to highlight this beauty inherent in the natural world while also upholding his training and attention to low impact practices. His minimalist approach to design and construction incorporates natural and man-made objects, in particular reclaimed wood. Walt also enjoys working in clay, stone, bone, rock, leather & canvas/cotton. He describes his design-build philosophy as “economy of design and construction”. Economy is in the conscious effort to design and build efficiently from reclaimed, found, re-purposed or green-manufactured materials, and minimal use of energy and other resources when re-milling or otherwise altering a material’s original form. Walt is further influenced by the simple, elegant lines of Asian and mid-century design. He actively supports creating a sustainable economy and continually seeks materials and finishes that are non-toxic, highly renewable and reclaimed. Walt makes his home in the south Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest and enjoys his family life, ocean paddling, skiing, biking, hiking, photgraphy and designing and creating unique & useful objects from reclaimed and repurposed materials.
