T.O.M.T. (The Other Man’s Treasures)
T.O.M.T. (the other man’s treasures) stemmed from a childhood of constantly building and making. That hands-on engagement with materials only grew when I moved to New York City. Like so many other creative people, I dragged home great finds from the trash to uniquely design my living spaces. Everyone did it, but I may have taken it a step further by transforming vacuum cleaners, crutches, piano harps, mannequins, doors and tires! These weird expressions gave me quite a bit of attention and love. The world wrote about me so much, I was honestly always surprised by the reaction.
The market that I had hoped would rise up to meet my creative manifestations and the excited press, well… it did, sort of. Though interest continued to grow, it was not in markets I hoped, but rather mostly DIYers – a truly enthusiastic engaged group but not one that makes for a financially fruitful engagement.
Realizing this led me beyond just simply building found object creations but to bring in my media work and develop a TV pitch to respond to the DIY interest.
You can find the evolution of that pursuit here at REFITTING THE PLANET & REFIT OR DIE.
From there, my interest has grown further into what you see on this site. It was time for a change, but it all stems from this initial pursuit of personal expression.
There is plenty of work here, but for a full dedicated site click here
Furniture
There is no material I have found that is off limits when it comes to creating items that surround us inside our spaces. Functional furniture such as chairs, tables, shelves and so many other smaller items can be objects people collect, because they help tell our story. All of our furniture is made from objects with lots of character and history; arriving with a story of their own.
Click the picture to see the work.
Lighting
When it comes to my found object expressions, my passion lies mostly with lighting. The idea that you could totally change the personality of a room with a different bulb and a lamp designed to fill a space with life. The theater of it all was always at the center of my lighting design.
Click the picture to see the work.
Branding
T.O.M.T. continues to be a true lifelong journey. I loved my original identity but it had to evolve as my life and the world around me was transforming. One either keeps up with the changes or one needs to evolve into new directions. This is the story of my work and the brand’s evolution.
Click the picture to see the work.