“he’s the toughest guy I know…”

2023 -

Doing Stuff as a design consultant

2017 - 2022

Design Director, Altar’d State

2002 - 2017

Design Director & Co-Founder, Studio Four Design

2000 - 2002

Designer, McCarty Holsaple McCarty

1996 - 1999

Designer, Hobgood Architects

1994-1996

NCSU - Raleigh, Master of Architecture w/ Graphic Design Concentration

1988 - 1993

UT - Knoxville, Bachelor of Architecture

B 1970

Knoxville, TN

MY STORY…SO FAR

young stuff

As the product of analytic and artistic parents, I was exposed to the creative arts at a young age. I loved drawing, taking things apart, and building things. Photographs from my first decade mostly document my helmet hair and stylish outfits, but one photo in particular suggests I was destined to be an architect; stacking blocks to build a tower twice my height. I didn’t know anything about Design, per se, but as an only child a passion for doing stuff was in my blood so I learned to be creative with my time.

At the age of 8, one set of my parents left educational careers to follow their entrepreneurial spirit. Over the next two decades I watched as they built four successful, and unique, businesses. There was never a dull moment growing up. Living above our shop I discovered what it meant to work both in and on the business… literally. I often traveled to apparel and gift markets with them -Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago- admiring the big buildings and the fast pace. My childhood was spent surrounded by people, places and products which shaped my worldview.

By the age of 10, Dad helped me launch my first retail business, Whales-n-Sails, a nautical-themed gift shop in a wedge-shaped corner of their home-decor gallery. As an adult, I now realize all the work he did behind the scenes for me to earn my first dollar. I had no idea what a P&L statement was, but I quickly learned the importance of guest experience when a stray customer would discover me, sitting attentive at my little counter. I was hooked. And I wanted to do more!

So at the age of 12, as part of their next retail venture, I prototyped my first product. Made 2, sold 1.

At 14, I was a fashion show DJ.

At 16, I was a model photographer.

By 18, I was selling lingerie to work my way thru college.

To hear the rest of those stories, we’ll have to meet!

college stuff

Life as an Architecture student felt like one, notoriously long night. The cool kids were all going to parties (or even better, they got to sleep). During my Freshman year I was so excited to have found my calling I stayed up an entire week - yes, a week…no sleep - finishing the model for my first design project. And I loved every minute of it! Unfortunately, during our final review my professor stepped on the model, completely crushing it. Sleep-deprived memories filled the next 6 years, but I embraced the fact I was never going to have a 9-5 job. It was a lifestyle. I was hooked, again. And I wanted to do more, again!

professional stuff

While a grad student in Raleigh, I sought out the best design firm in town –a small, boutique studio- to hopefully land my first ‘real’ job. I walked in with my portfolio (on a homemade Viewmaster reel), and told the owner I was there to accept the job offer he was about to make.  Risky move, but it paid off. And it started my design-centric trajectory.

I believe there are no random events.  Whether you call it fate, luck or The Force, life pushes and pulls us towards personal growth and new opportunities.  In 1999 it brought me back home to Knoxville, working -coincidentally- beside one of my college best friends.   

After the events of 9/11 changed the world, he and I, along with 4 other colleagues, made our move and launched our own design firm.  It was the perfect merger of my entrepreneurial spirit and creative passion, wrapped up in a simple idea… Design Matters. With distinct areas of expertise, we created a playground of sorts with our projects and culture (fun fact: we were profiled in a book about the power of office culture). On projects of all types and sizes, we were passionate about design for people to see, to use and to feel.

In 2009, fate intervened again with the Great Recession.  As other clients walked out the door, a new one walked in. What they lacked in money (and company name), they more than made up for in vision.  It was the start of a journey which expanded my design skills, pushed my personal growth and brought my retail-filled youth full-circle. After 15 years providing design on the service side of the table with my firm I embraced the opportunity to join their in-house department, deepening my knowledge of the retail industry from the client side.

CURRENT stuff

Noted mid-century designer Charles Eames said, “We work because it’s a chain reaction, each subject leads to the next.”

In 2023 I launched my own design consulting business with the same energy for creativity, exploration and transformation I had my first year of design school.

A varied career has a way of cross-fertilizing from one domain to another, and I’ve tried to keep this sentiment at the heart of my professional journey. During this time I have collaborated with a band of big thinkers, rule breakers, and inspiration seekers toward original and engaging environments.

I curate experiences from the things that inspire me – people, drink, art, music, design and travel.  Those experiences, plus my childhood, are what make me, well, GT.

I offer something unpretentious, thoughtful and a bit out of the box – all done with my sense of design inspiration and hard work.  Some ideas flow effortlessly.  Others take superhuman effort.  But I persevere because it’s my passion to create memorable solutions from complex problems.

PASSIONATE. ENTREPRENEURIAL. FOCUSED