hello, I'm Jack Barnes

For as long as I can remember, I have been doing something creative. I am fortunate that my parents involved me in the arts at an early age with music and art lessons. I always seemed to have the eye, ear, and aptitude for music and art. This led me to pursue design studies at North Carolina State University. 

In 1992 I graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Design (unspecified). During those studies I took a ceramics course at The Crafts Center, an extension of NCSU. I was hooked. I started making pottery and did every chance I could. My design studies took on a decided emphasis on craft, particularly with ceramics. 

From 1992-1999, my craft focus was ceramics but I also dabbled with woodwork. In 1995 I joined Antfarm Studios in Raleigh, NC. The space was largely unheated and I preferred to “winter” with woodworking. 

In 2000 I made a permanent shift to woodworking. I also moved from Raleigh, NC to Atlanta, GA. Apart from some brief and sporadic spurts of time, my personal creative work has taken a backseat until the last couple of years. 

In 2008 I began working in the ReStore of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. What started as a part-time job has become a career. My work at Habitat has been a pivotal and defining time for me and my creativity. Many things have come together across several decades and gelled. Working in an environment of donated items collected 6 days a week, I am constantly in the midst of creative stimuli. This stimuli coupled with the creative demands of my particular job has reawakened and refocused my creative energy.

My current work references several spheres of influence. There is a decidedly strong influence of mid-century design. In 2002, my wife and I bought our ranch house. This started my infatuation with mid-century product design and architecture.

Reuse is a big part of my work. I use everything I can from the scrap pile. I repurpose as much as I can to keep it from the trash pile. (However, I only use new electrical parts!) I have also made a pieces from the wood pile awaiting the tree service to finish its job.

Frugality led me to making lamps. The scrap from old projects pointed me toward the scale of lamps. One driving force of my process is trying to figure out what I can make out of the material I have.

In the last year or so, I have been saving more and more wood from the chipper and landfill. I am very excited about the possibilities and promise my wood piles will bring in the years to come!