Festus56 Report post Posted July 24, 2016 (edited) Greetings All, Have been lurking here in the background for a few years. Reading, admiring and sometimes borrowing ideas from all the talent here. Decided it was time to say hello and introduce myself. Mark (Myself aka "Festus") has been designing and building creations from wood and/or leather for over 40 years. Started leatherwork in high school as a way to keep me in spending money. Self taught at the school of hard knocks and still learning. (Jamie mostly just watches and encourages, but she has a hand in helping with some of the building process.) I grew up on a ranch in northwestern South Dakota and spent 30+ years working as both a general contractor in remodeling and adding on to homes; and as a builder / remodeler (carpentry, custom tile, sheetrock, paint, landscaping, etc.) residential and light commercial in the Black Hills area. Pulled up stakes after divorce and moved from South Dakota to Wyoming and started driving truck for a living. Kinda like starting over I guess. About 8 years ago I met a great lady and settled down again. Finally was able to get my 40 year collection of tools in one place and start using them again. When we are not working at our full-time employment (year-round) or creating things in the shop (nights & weekends - mostly throughout the winter), we love to travel. We have ridden over 115,000 motorcycle miles during the last 8 years. Those miles have included journeys into 14 US States and 5 Canadian Provinces May 2016 --- Due to the downturn in coal, oil and gas energy related companies in WY - my company offered some of us a early retirement package. I accepted it and have since relocated to the Billings, MT area. Renting for now while we look for a more permanent place to call home. At least I have a bigger shop now. Mark Edited July 24, 2016 by Festus56 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustangman2 Report post Posted August 4, 2016 Welcome from another Montana resident, enjoy this site it's a lot of fun and informational. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Festus56 Report post Posted August 8, 2016 Thank You, I do enjoy browsing here. A lot of good info and ideas. What part of the state do you live? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustangman2 Report post Posted August 21, 2016 I live in Stevensville, where are you Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Festus56 Report post Posted August 22, 2016 We are in Billings. Moved here from WY a few months ago. You are in some nice country there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustangman2 Report post Posted August 23, 2016 as a kid I was raised up on the Highline, north/west of Billings. All our relatives lived their so we spend a lot of time in Billings. We have been in Stevensville since Nov last year moving from Eastern Oregon, we love it here. are you retired and where did you move from? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Festus56 Report post Posted August 24, 2016 Hello, I grew up in SD. Lived there for 45 yrs then after divorce I moved to Gillette, WY. Worked there for 10 yrs and got an offer for early retirement and we moved here in May. Kind of semi retired, still doing leather and woodworking. If I don't keep busy I might have to find part time work to keep me out of mischief. Feel free to check out our web site in my signature line. Lots of pictures of our projects and bike travels. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mustangman2 Report post Posted August 27, 2016 wow, i checked out your site, you do some very beautiful work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Festus56 Report post Posted August 27, 2016 2 hours ago, mustangman2 said: wow, i checked out your site, you do some very beautiful work. Thank you, appreciate it !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
