We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Forrest Cramer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Forrest below.
Forrest, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic definitely came from my dad. Growing up, he was an example of a hard worker, never leaving at quitting time but staying until the job was done, and done well. He taught me that hard work pays off, and that the things that matter sometimes take a long time to achieve; that slow and steady wins the race. That mentality is difficult to hold onto in today’s society, where we want to build an empire and achieve wealth overnight. At times, through my journey as a furniture designer/builder, progress seems so slow in the moment, but looking back I realize the wisdom gained in the journey.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a luxury furniture designer and maker.
Artistic threads have been woven throughout my entire life, in photography & art, culinary pursuits and, as my profession, in designing and crafting luxury art furniture. I strive to create pieces of furniture that are beyond the ordinary; pieces that are a unique combination of my client’s personality and my artistic vision. I love seeing a space as a palate to create that one unique statement piece that will make the room come alive and elevate it from an ordinary living space to a place of abundance. Pieces that bring a smile to my client’s face every time they walk into the room.
What I offer to my clients is the opportunity to dream big, to imagine what a space could look like, and then walk through the process with them by designing, building and delivering something that is beyond what they dreamed of.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the three main things that have guided my journey are these:
Persevere and never give up on your dream, no matter how hard it gets.
Pursue your passion with the all the quality and excellence you can give it.
Never stop learning and challenging yourself to grow.
Often the dreams we have when we start a bold journey like this can fade over time. Disillusionment can set in as things don’t seem to be going the way we’d planned when we set out. For me, I started out with the dream to build high end art furniture. But starting off, I had to take anything that came my way, just to make a living. So I built cabinets and floating shelves, installed hardwood flooring, and just about anything else you could imagine that is made out of wood. But as I held firm to those guiding convictions, I started to get a reputation as someone who did high quality work. I would meet people and they’d say, “oh yeah, you did such and such for this person” or “I’ve seen your work in this place”.
Looking back, my abilities and my confidence both grew through my experiences, and I don’t think I’d be where I am today without all I walked through.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg Mckeown was a pivotal book for me in the way I pursued my work and balanced my journey.
A couple of the chief lessons that I took away:
Analyze your decisions based on your end goals, and if they don’t align, let them go.
Don’t give in to “sunk cost bias”. Just because you’ve been pursuing something for a long time or have a lot invested it, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it if it’s not working. Be willing to let it go in order to make space for the things that are of higher value
Contact Info:
- Website: forrestcramer.com
- Instagram: @forrest.cramer
- Other: email: info@forrestcramer.com
Image Credits
Photography by Bruno Cardoso
