My Story

The Stonesmith Masonry journey...

For years, I built things that lived on screens — directing commercials and music videos, and working as a visual effects artist in entertainment and advertising. It was creative, fast-paced work, but somewhere along the way I found myself drawn to something more elemental: stone. Not the digital kind, but the real, weathered, thousand-year kind that natural stone masonry is built from.

That pull led to a full career change later in life. I trained and became certified at the Dry Stone Conservancy in Lexington, Kentucky, studying under master stone mason Neil Rippingale — learning traditional dry stone techniques, built without mortar, the way it's been done for centuries. It's a craft in short supply today, and one I'm proud to help carry forward. Alongside that, I work with contemporary mortared masonry, always with an emphasis on natural stone, and I'm especially drawn to the historical restoration of stone structures — bringing old work back to life using the same principles it was built on.

Beyond masonry, I also design and hand-build bespoke concrete planters — a chance to shape raw material into something both functional and sculptural, on a smaller and more personal scale.

I'm Stonesmith Masonry — currently seeking unique projects to work and grow as a stone mason. If you have natural stone work, restoration, or a custom planter in mind, I'd love to talk.

My path here wasn't a straight line. For two decades, I directed commercials and music videos and worked in visual effects — collaborating with artists like Madonna and Sting along the way. That's an old chapter, but still part of my story; you can see it here.