"We work with boards from these trees, to fulfill their yearning for a second life, to release their richness and beauty. From these planks we fashion objects useful to man, and if nature wills, things of beauty."

-George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree

Takayuki Kida was born in Fukushima, Japan and came to the United States in 1994. Tak began his career as a prototype engineer in Tokyo until his discovery of traditional Japanese woodworking and lacquer (urushi) techniques. He pursued training in both with master artisans in Japan. Tak served his woodworking apprenticeship at Sakura International, the only authorized manufacturer of George Nakashima designs in Japan. When he is not working at Timmerhus, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado, Tak designs and builds custom wood furniture merging the best of Japanese and Western sensibilities.