Hello, my name is Neal Drago.  I was born and raised in Wisconsin, in Wauwatosa, a suburb west of Milwaukee.  I studied diesel and automotive technology and spent 45 years in the auto service industry, so attention to detail and finish were second nature to me.

After I retired, I looked for new ways to define myself.  I already had experience working with wood as my wife and I had built our passive solar adobe home as well as some of the furnishings for it.  However, I was still looking for a new way to use my tools and express myself.  I discovered box making and it has opened a whole new world to me.  I have been creating boxes and expanding my designs ever since.  Each box is unique and no two are exactly alike.

Each box begins life as either a solid block of wood or a book-matched lamination.  They are “roughed-out” on a band saw and then brought to final shape using a variety of sanding techniques