hi!

I'm Makenzie.

Welcome to my site! As typical creative people will always tell you, I've been making things my entire life; my parents can attest to this fact as they were the proud owners of countless masterpieces made by the childhood version of me. I haven’t really stopped since I first discovered the joy of making messes.

Looking back I had no choice but to enter into a creative field.  Combinations of my craft savvy, genius Halloween costume making mother, flower arranging-bird loving grandmother, engineering/jerry-rigging grandfather, and Sunday mornings spent in eccentric art classes taught by my other grandmother as well as a general sense of freedom and independence brought about invented worlds, intricately crafted shoe box houses and drawers stuffed with drawings, paintings, and very important scraps of paper.

In recent years I've managed to hone my skills into something that other people outside of my parents and grandparents will appreciate, or at least I like to think so.  I just graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP for short) with my dual Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Historic Preservation.  

Shortly after arriving at GSAPP, with a fresh Bachelor's of Arts degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Architectural Studies, I started working in the Fabrication Shop.  When I started I only knew basic concepts from watching my dad and grandpa fix up this and that, but had no actual experience with the various tools.  It was hard work but I fell in love with it and began finding excuses to be in the Fab Shop when I wasn't working.   I worked my way up until I had gathered enough skills and knowledge to earn the position of Lead TA.  Augmented with Furniture Design classes and ambitious models for my studios using the CNC machine (my new best friend) I discovered my happy place.  

I've been covered in saw dust ever since...