Alex has lived in Healdsburg since 1972, working as a carpenter, cabinet maker, and general contractor. In 2017, he retired from general contracting and began spending more time at the lathe. The wood used in his turnings is predominantly from trees grown in Sonoma County: non-native landscape trees as well as the great native species. Alex considers them all to be domestic exotics, worthy of being saved from the chipper. After years of building custom homes in partnership with other craftsmen, he now enjoys working alone, developing his own designs as he endeavors to reveal the hidden beauty of the wood.