Employee owner name: Peter Suzuki

Department/Position at Bark Frameworks: Special Milling / Woodshop

Hails from: Kailua, Hawaii

How long have you worked at Bark? Six years

What did you do for work before you worked at Bark Frameworks?
My last job was at New York Central Art Supply, in their paper department.

What is the biggest challenge in your area of work at Bark?

One of the more challenging parts of this job, besides using fairly dangerous machinery, is finding the appropriate wood to match our different types of finishes. We have a lot of wood to work with, and a lot of wood to look through, so it is important to cull the best pieces in order to keep our standards high and our clients happy.

What do you like best about working here?
My favorite parts of working at Bark are my awesome employees, and working with my hands, wood, and glue to make nice things.

Name a particularly memorable framing project you worked on at Bark:
I like the idea that I have the opportunity to go and see certain pieces that we’ve worked on in museums, or galleries.

What does being an employee owner mean to you?
Bark Frameworks has always held very high standards in the way we do things – I remember thinking how nicely things were made and finished here when I first started. Now, being employee owned, we get to continue to make frames to the same high standards with the same processes and materials, rather than the company being sold and having to change our materials or lower our standards to make more profit.

Are you an artist?
I studied printmaking at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Any outside hobbies/interests you have when you’re not making frames?
I am training for a half marathon! And I have started swimming again. I also enjoy going to the beach in the summer.

Thank you, Peter!

Interview Text and Photos: Jennifer M. Clark

Originally Published: Feb 2018.

Peter Suzuki working in the woodshop