Everything has a story. Every person defines and identifies themselves through words, through the clothes they wear, the books they read, the objects they use to adorn themselves and their homes. The collection of these things tell the stories of individuals, of cultural movements,of social movements of the life which individuals and objects have lived. Inherent in both the object and the individual is a history... a story... unique to itself.

I am a collector and teller of stories.

My Story:

Born Andrea Nicole Bauguss, November 21st 1974 Winston- Salem, North Carolina(Home of the legendary Krispy Kreme doughnut). Raised primarily by my paternal grandparents Ginger Lou(an artist and technical draftsman and Roger Leon(a politician, union leader and car salesman).... In my earliest memories I am glued to my grandmothers drafting table surrounded by mechanical drawing tools and framed yellowing photographs of my grandfather with a multiude of union and political figures from the 50’s and 60’s....creating art on my grandmothers old blueprints and sketches and listening to my grandfathers stories... the room never absent of clouds of smoke and mile high glasses of sweet tea ( we are talking about the south here- tobacco country).

My formative years were filled with many moves, many homes ,many art classes...and many enormous family and church (Southern Baptist that is-) Potlucks... both of which honed my skills as a collector and teller of tales...

At 18, bored with my colorful, but small town existence- working summers in the garden, canning beans and as a lackey in a local frame shop -I had my sites set on the bright lights and big city. As a star high school athlete and scholar, an athletic scholarship landed me in Orlando, Florida for 2 years.

Too much sun and the lack of barbecue and sweet tea gave cause for my relocation to the fine Commonwealth of Virginia.

I attended Viriginia Commonwealth University, graduating with honors with a BFA in Visual Communication and Design and a BFA in Art History. Wet behind the ears and full of ambition, I set out to change the world through design. Only two days out of school I began working for a small firm in Richmond Virginia- working as a designer of graphics, packages and trade show displays. Slaving tirelessly for 2 years in an old print house, with ink stained wood floors, behind the dull glow of a 21 inch computer monitor, I longed for the daylight of the real world- for things tactile and multi-dimensional.

One oppressively sweltering sunday morning in August 2000, over a luke warm cup of black coffee, my world changed. A friend, and teller of tales, convinced me of the riches that lay in the world of historic renovation. I threw all caution to the wind, quit my lackluster design job and spent my last $150 on a second hand tool belt and hand tools. Thus I began my life calling as a carpenter, builder.

I fell in love with building. I fell in love with buildings-with all of the stories contained in the structures themselves, with their history... in all they ways they were adorned inside and out, in what was left behind and hidden within their walls- old books, newspapers, clothes and furniture. Most of these homes were built at a time when all the materials were fabricated by hand- and had the story of their creator. I found myself collecting scraps of paper, wood, nails, hardware and old furniture from the homes that I renovated. I began refinishing and rebuilding some of this furniture for my own home, and hanging old bits on my walls - the objects, art themselves.

After only 2 years of working under the guidance of several Richmond, Virginia contractors and master carpenters I ventured out on my own.

Since 2002, I have been self employed as a spatial and interior designer and foundation to finish carpenter. My repertoire including color consulting, custom cabinetry, furniture, masonry, tile work, minor electrical, plumbing, painting, hardwood floor repair installation and refinishing etc.... I completed over 25 full historic renovations and 50+ short term projects in Richmond, Virginia and surrounding areas, while employing and training a crew of 8 ambitious artists and craftsmen. In addition to my work in renovation and preservation, I co-founded REVIVAL, a 2 woman operation using salvaged and reclaimed materials to build unique furniture and functional art. Amidst the whirlwind of old homes and REVIVAL- I became more creatively inspired than ever- and in 2004 I began incorporating all of these reclaimed historic materials into my art... from lumber that serves as the canvas to the paint and the frames that contain them. In 2005, Love ,2 Uhauls, 2 trips across the U.S., my faithful dog Parker and my harmonica- brought me to San Francisco where I continue to build, to create.

Everything and every one has a story.

I am a collector of things, and a fabricator of stories.

My art, whether a piece furniture or a painting is about seeing a thing and hearing its story,and as any good story teller does, find a way to breath new life into it with their own voice. Each piece of my art is influenced by the materials that create it- sometimes it is the home it came from, sometimes the individual who gives them to me, sometimes the metaphor some element represents. In my process, I am constantly evolving and being reminded of my past- the past, present and future of things...always looking,listening and moving through these cycles with intention,honesty and acceptance of where something arrives or departs.

I welcome commissions and the opportunity to tell you a story... or create one from your old stuff...