From Stream Biologist to Artisan: Andy Peck’s Inspiring Journey to Live Edge Exclusives
Why I Swapped Streams for Slabs
A first-person note from Andy Peck, founder & artisan at Live Edge Exclusives — with gratitude to Put Tools In Schools (PTIS) for telling my story.
The scientist I used to be
I grew up in Pittsburgh dreaming of clean rivers and healthy ecosystems. That dream took me all the way to a Ph.D. in environmental science and a career as a stream biologist in the nonprofit world. The work mattered, but eventually the endless grant cycles, travel, and emotional weight of fighting massive environmental problems left me running on fumes. “I loved what I did, but there was a point where I started feeling like I was just treading water.”
The leap I finally took
In 2023 my family and I landed in Locust, North Carolina, and I gave myself permission to start over. I’d always loved working with my hands, so I launched Live Edge Exclusives and began shaping locally-sourced hardwood into one-of-a-kind pieces. Watching a raw slab reveal its grain under the planer felt immediate, honest, and hopeful in a way lab reports never could.
Why I call myself an artisan, not a craftsman
Every board already holds a story; my role is to coax it into the light with design, joinery, and finish that respect the tree it came from. That mindset is less about production and more about stewardship and artistry. “The options associated with live-edge pieces are nearly endless. Every slab of wood has its own story, and my job is to bring that story to life.”
The life it lets me live
Running my own shop means I can press pause for a school play or sketch a new table idea while my kids do homework at the workbench. That flexibility is priceless, and it’s a freedom I never felt while chasing grant deadlines.
A word to anyone standing where I stood
If burnout has you questioning the career you trained for, remember that fulfillment isn’t issued with a diploma. Skilled trades and small-scale entrepreneurship are wide-open doors for people who want to work with their heads and their hands. The learning curve is real — bookkeeping and marketing were new rivers to wade — but the water’s fine once you dive in.
Thank you, Put Tools In Schools
The team at Put Tools In Schools (PTIS) believes young people should see trades as vibrant, creative, and financially rewarding. Their recent feature, “From Scientist to Artisan: Andy Peck’s Journey Beyond Academia Into the Trades,”helped share my pivot with a wider audience and, I hope, nudged a few readers toward their own fresh start. PTIS, thank you for championing stories like mine and for giving tomorrow’s artisans the confidence — and the tools — to begin.
See the full PTIS article
Read the piece that sparked this post and consider supporting PTIS so more students discover the joy of making things that last.
Explore my latest work
If a live-edge dining table, mantle, or accent piece is on your wish list, browse the gallery or drop me a note. I’d love to help the next slab tell your story.
