Unityville Studios
235 S. Gordner Church Road
Unityville, PA  17774-9330
570.458.4562   

 

Small business owner, 2001-present.

Self-employed woodworker and fumituremaker:

• One-man shop designing and building one-of-a-kind and limited-edition furniture and furnishings, all in Pennsylvania hardwoods, for private commissions and for sale through galleries and wholesale and retail craft shows.

Recent commissioned work includes:

• Lingerie Cabinet in walnut and maple, 2007
• Double doors in maple for Greenwood Friends School science room with ceramic tiles by Sara Baker, 2006.
• Cherry entry-hall bench with ceramic tiles by Sara Baker, 2006, Walnut and maple television cabinet, 2006.
• Oak rolltop desk for church sanctuary audio/video equipment, 2005.
• Greene & Greene-sryle rocking chair in cherry, 2004.
• Kitchen stepstool in curly maple, 2004.
• Corner table to display veteran's American flag in cherry and walnut, 2004.
• Drop-leaf coffee table in walnut, sycamore and maple, 2003.
• Television/media corner cabinet in cherry and curly maple, 2003.

Collaborative work with tilemakers David Stabley and Sara Baker, including wall pieces; hall, coffee and end tables; wall cabinets and mirrors; beds; and rocking chairs.

Zoning Officer, Franklin Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 2006-present.

Responsible for administration and enforcement of the Township Zoning Ordinance, including issuing and denying permits, ensuring adherence to the Ordinance, and advising the Township supervisors on changes to the Ordinance.

Trustee, Greenwood Friends School, Millville, Pennsylvania, 2004-present.

Serve on active fifteen-member Board overseeing the mission and strategic planning for one-hundred-student Quaker school. Committee assignments have included Strategic Planning Steering, Community Policy, Safety, and Facilities. Wrote Community Policy statement and collaborated on writing the Diversity Statement.

Facilities Committee member, Greenwood Friends School, 2001-present; clerk of the Committee, 2006-present.

Act as the school's representative with contractors and consultants. Carry out carpentry, woodworking and "handyman" projects for the school as a volunteer. With another parent on the committee, worked out the schematic design for the I3,ooo-square-foot addition to the school (opened in 2004); interviewed architect and contractor candidates.

Founding member, Artspace: A Cooperative Gallery, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, 2001-present.

With thirteen other artists, organized the start-up of a for-profit storefront art gallery. Share equally in operating and staffing the gallery. As part of the gallery's collaboration with the Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble, designed posters for B.T.E.'s 2005 and 2006 holiday shows. Budget committee member, 2001-present.

Treasurer, Artspace, 2001-04; responsibilities included all bookkeeping and accounting tasks.

Self-employed carpenter, woodworker and furnituremaker, 1987-2001.

Several periods of long-term association with others in this period, including L.N.R. & Sons, Framingham, Massachusetts (1989-90); Glen Roadarmel Construction, Orangeville, Pennsylvania (1992-96); Lightstreet [Pennsylvania] Custom Woodworking (1997-99).

Other experiences:

• Volunteer reader, Bloomsburg [Pennsylvania] Public Library children's story -hour, 2002-2005.
• Volunteer, Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1996-97.
  • Tasks in the Restoration Shop included metalworking, woodworking and painting.
  • In the Railroad Operations department, worked as a brakeman on steam-powered excursion trains within the yard and on the main line.
• Correspondent, Worcester [Massachusetts] Telegram & Gazette,, 1990-92.
  • Covered town selectmen's meetings in Berlin, Mass., writing weekly articles.
• Elected student representative to Architecture Department student/faculty advisory committee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1985-86.

Publications:

• "Kids Today", Railfan & Railroad, May 2006
• "The toasted cheese sandwich", Trains, April 2006.
• The flying switch that worked (almost)", Trains, January 2006.
• High-back bench in "Readers Gallery", Fine Woodworking, February 2005.
• High-back bench in American Art Collector, Volume i, Book 3,2004.
• Photographs in books and magazines, including Ceramics Monthly, Locomotive & Railway
• Preservation, The Steam Passenger Service Directory, and The Spirit of Steam by
• William Withuhn (Smithmark Publishing, 1995).

Education:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bachelor of Science in Art and Design, 1987.

• Architecture (non-professional) major; four studio courses; finished degree program in seven semesters. Humanities concentration ("minor") in American Studies, including urban history and architectural/landscape history.
  • Summer position (1986) as carpenter in the architecture department, rebuilding graduate studio spaces.

Fieldston Schools, Bronx, New York, prekindergarten-i2th grade, 1970-83.

• Classes throughout included visual arts, industrial arts, performing arts, print shop and wood shop.
  

Personal:

Born August 1965, New York City; married Sara Baker, June 1992; two children, Maia and Jeremy. All of the family enjoys outdoors activities, including swimming, ice skating, hiking and bicycling.

 

235 South Gordner Church Road - Unityville, PA - 17774-9330 - 570/458-4562
www.unitwillestudios.com - oren@unitvvillestudios.com