Chris Secrest



Chris Secrest
Class of 2022
La Crescenta,
 CA

My grandfather had a cavernous home shop. A serious shop. And he did it all, it seemed to me as a kid growing up in San Antonio. He did metal work, woodwork, he was a gunsmith, a general contractor and an all-around great carpenter. Not much of a conversationalist. But he’d let me hang out with him and he kept me in scraps, a hammer, nails… and I became fascinated with making and fixing and creating things with my hands. I started to get handy.

I studied screenwriting and made a living designing and creating motion graphics but I’ve continued my interest in woodworking throughout my life. Once I attended the summer sessions here at Krenov in 2018 though, I switched gears, focusing full-time on woodworking and related fields. I worked at two reclaimed lumber mills and a high-end custom furniture shop in Los Angeles and built my first dedicated home woodshop, picking up the essential tools second-hand and learning to restore and tune them myself. I started doing commission work. And I applied to attend the full-time program here at Krenov and I’m thrilled and grateful to be here. The staff’s knowledge, patience and kindness are a wonder every day and with their help, I hope to not only improve my woodworking skills but also my connection to the mindset that comes from immersion in the materials and the process of the craft.

See Chris's Work


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