At the age of 50, after a creative career in advertising I felt a strong need to find work in which I could be more creative with my hands instead of my mind. Throughout my life wood and the versatility of it has always fascinated and inspired me. Whatever my idea or solution for a request or problem; wood often proved to be the right material to create it. In the world of Treehouses, where dreams transcend the standard things of life.. creativity is limitless. And as no-one else in the Netherlands – at that time – was a fulltime professional treehouse builder, I decided to give it a go!

Once I decided to become a Treehouse builder I wanted to know how it was done.. and how issues like ‘safety’, ‘construction’, ‘tree-friendlyness’, ‘sustainability’, ‘durable wood and materials’ etc are dealt with.. As Treehouse Building in the US has developed into a serious professional business during the last few decades, I decided to go to the yearly International Treehouse Convention in Takilma, Oregon. The workshops are hosted by the experts on treehouse building.. such as Michael Garnier and Pete Nelson. Back in Holland I quit my advertising job.. and started this – still – amazing adventure.

Nothing triggers my creativity more than a problem, a request or a dream which have no detailed outlines. Purely the word, a statement or a description of a situation can get the wheels of my imagination going.. often ending in a solution that differs completely from what it commonly results in..

To be honest.. after trying to find an answer to this question.. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can’t think of anything which I experience as ‘difficult’ in the scratch phase of a project. Like I said in the previous answer, nothing triggers my creativity more than ‘scratch’.