We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brad Williams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brad, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
In the beginning, my focus was on personal projects and commissioned jobs for interior designs, realtors, and home owners, through Hamilton Lee Designs. As I began to develop my processes and became a supplier of raw materials and building products, I began to develop relationships with similar Craftsmen, teaching and supporting those around me.
This love for helping and teaching, seeded the start of Hamilton Lee Supply. A company that allowed me to use my knowledge and products to build up the businesses and hobbies of my customer.
Today, along with Building Custom Furniture, I have the privilege to work with hundreds of skilled Craftsmen around the country, from Tree to Table and all along the way. We have two showrooms in two states that provide lumber services, to live edge lumber, to epoxy and woodworking supplies, to finished furniture.
Brad, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
For 15 years, my career revolved around construction, from production homes, to custom homes, and on to commercial construction. I’ve build everything from 2000 square foot track homes, to restaurants and butcher shops, to leading dozens of personnel handling million dollar plus projects.
Through out this career, I always had a love for natural materials utilized in construction. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey barreled through Houston, Texas and brought down a Pecan Tree in our back yard. My father, having always engaged in woodworking, asked how we could process the log and work it into some furniture. Unable to find a sawmill nearby, we drove to Missouri, and purchased a trailered bandsaw mill from EZBoardwalk.
The next several months, through custom home building sources, we grew the log yard to 50+ Pecan, Oak, Magnolia, and other tree species from around Houston. Once the wood was ready to work, I wanted to make sure I had the cheapest cost on all the other products used to build custom tables, so I became a dealer for an epoxy company and a finish company. This led to the birth of Hamilton Lee Supply, a live edge and woodworking supply company.
Beginning with a few small tables and charcuterie boards, I soon worked through all the novice mistakes, misconceptions, and growing pains that creeped up. With this knowledge and wisdom, I soon found myself working with other Craftsmen and helping them avoid the mistakes that I had already experiences. My philosophy soon began to focus on helping other increase their business from garage hobbyist to professional maker.
My biggest accomplishment that I’m proud of is the network of amazing men and women that has coalesced around the supply company, from small weekend makers, to top furniture builders, to some of the top YouTube personalities in the industry. It’s been an amazing ride, getting to know so many folks around the country.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect is being able to share my gained knowledge of creating and the endless possibilities with customers, and other makers, learning to create or grow outside their current discipline.
We also get the opportunity to save trees that otherwise would be mulched, chipped, burned, or sent to the landfill.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Focusing more on things that last. Delayed gratification for something that is truly unique, tells a story, or is just built better. So many amazing artists and craftsmen out there, capable of building heirloom quality pieces. Unfortunately, this is an upstream battle for most.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.hamiltonleesupply.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/hamiltonleesupply
- Facebook: Www.facebook.com/hamiltonleesupply
- Linkedin: Www.instagram.com/hamiltonleesupply
- Youtube: Www.YouTube.com/hamiltonleesupply
- Other: Creative: Www.hamiltonleedesigns.com Www.instagram.com/hamiltonleedesigns Www.facebook.com/hamiltonleedesigns