Careers at Oak Brothers 

Jeff Ediger, the founder and owner of Oak Brothers Historic Restoration.

Jeff received his introduction to craftsmanship while working for a third-generation Dutch house painter for several summers while attending graduate school. He became fascinated by the seemingly miraculous results that can be achieved by applying the time-tested principles and practices of an old-world craft. From the importance of good prep. work to the proper way to hold and load a paint brush to the reliability of methodically following incremental sequences–he learned that good craftsmanship yields results which seem to exceed the invested effort.

What surprised him just as much, though, is the role thoughtfulness plays in the work of craft. The experienced crafts person has what Stephen Nachmanovitch describes as “skill to burn.”[1] Working more like an improvisational musician than a rigid technician, he or she considers what is needful for the specific project at hand and applies just the right procedure and material to accomplish the task. Because he has “skill to burn,” he has many options to choose from. This, is how Jeff thinks about the essence of craft: “thoughtfulness in action, informed by time-tested skills and procedures, to accomplish beauty and purpose.”