NICHOLAS LARKINS
is a traditional craftsman and writer whose work combines the building and liberal arts.
Nick’s conversion to the building arts began in college with the purchase of a 1976 motorcycle, rebuilding parts at his desk while finishing a great books and philosophy program. The parallels between the intellectual work required to rebuild an old bike and his academic coursework were striking, and he began to write about the interconnection of craft, culture, and human flourishing. He took a sabbatical to work in a pipe organ shop, and has been in the building trades ever since. Nick has worked variously as a pipe organ builder, a welder, a motorcycle mechanic, a timber framer, a furniture maker, and a general contractor. Looking to integrate his background in the liberal arts with the multi-trade skillset he had acquired, he founded True West Craftworks with a vision to combine high-quality craftsmanship, real materials, and time-tested design.
His educational pursuits are ongoing, and have taken him to Charleston SC, where he studied with the architecture faculty of the American College of the Building Arts, and to Bruges, Belgium, studying traditional architecture and building craft techniques with La Table Ronde De L’Architecture
He presently works in Cartersville, GA, as the head of Craeftworks, a millwork and fabrication shop integrating traditional building practices with incremental development. He writes about the interconnection of the building arts, the liberal arts, and human flourishing at his blog With Tools in Hand. Click the button below to hire for design services, trim carpentry, custom woodworking, or welding projects.
Why craftworks?
The name is a nod to the historic craft district of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, “Liberty Craftworks”, where I first encountered traditional methods of handcraft. This small corner of the village is home to a collection of still-operable workshops that have housed glassblowers, potters, weavers, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, and sawyers; in other words, it is home to the kind of artisanal diversity and excellence that support a healthy culture. I take real delight in the diversity of work that comes into my shop, and in the pursuit of excellence in many kinds of craft work, hence the two-fold fittingness of the name “craftworks”.