BAWA Apparel. Hey! Be the first one in your block to be decked out in the latest BAWA finery. Wear the finery to the meetings, to the wood shows or just show your envious woodworker friends. Jay Perrine is the source of BAWA baseball caps ($10), and BAWA work shirts ($35 or so). You can contact him at jperrine@calwater.com or 408/378-1585.

NEW ITEM! BAWA 25th Anniversary T-Shirts. See Stan Booker.

Woodcraft. Dublin & San Carlos give the club a rebate on all purchases. Give receipts to Mark Rand.

Open Shop. Volunteer to open your shop to members. Contact Per Madsen 415/928-4509 or permads@comcast.net

Like many young boys, Joe fell in love with woodworking while helping his father with a variety of projects. Those southern California days whiled away in their garage were filled with his dad's stories. Some were more ordinary, such as working as a general contractor. But some stories -- the ones about building movie sets and working on the famous Spruce Goose, sparked his imagination and began to cultivate what would become a life-long passion for woodworking.

Joe's high school woodshop experience had barely begun to scratch the itch, when college came along and more serious pursuits led him into Anthropology and Psychology. During college, Joe worked in a production furniture factory and a small custom wood shop learning everything he could about tools, techniques, wood, and business. The desire to work with his hands finally won out over his original course of study, and he switched majors to earn a degree in design.

After graduation, Joe moved to the San Francisco peninsula and took a cabinetmaking position in a small custom woodworking shop in Palo Alto. In 1978 he designed and assembled an in-house shop for a high-end general contractor. After four years of running that shop for his employer during the days and building side jobs in the evenings and on weekends, Joe took the leap and rented his own space to establish Joseph Brown Distinctive Woodworking.

Over these past 25 years, Joe has materially expanded the shop's square footage, added a variety of equipment, cultivated a team of skilled craftsmen, and flourished as his reputation advanced him into the rarified position of keeping his shop constantly running on referrals alone. He is known for using the best building techniques and never cutting corners. His clients, whether architects, designers, or home owners, get what they ask for -- without ego or excuses. His business is 99% residential for homes that may range in value from $1-50 million, and average $25 million. He works in multiple styles and can match existing designs as well as create a project entirely from scratch. And, even after all these years... the passion he first felt while working with his dad is still alive and well.

Meeting Location

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

HWY 101 FROM THE NORTH - Take the Brittan Av off-ramp. Make a left onto Industrial. Take a right at the first T-intersection which is Howard. Turn left onto old County Road. Travel about 3 blocks or 0.2 of a mile.

HWY 101 FROM THE SOUTH - Take the Whipple Av West off-ramp. Travel west on Whipple to Old County Road (just before the railroad tracks). Turn right onto Old County Road.
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FROM HWY 280 - Take the Edgewood Rd off-ramp and travel to Alameda De Las Pulgas. Turn left and travel to Brittan and turn right. Travel on Brittan to Laurel (just before El Camino) and turn right. Travel 2 blocks on Laurel to Howard and turn left. On Howard cross El Camino and the railroad tracks and turn right onto Old County Road.