Frank Strazza interests in woodworking are many and varied. His passion covers several aspects of furniture making including, carving, inlay, marquetry, Windsor chair making as well as violin making. Frank’s first recollection of any interest in woodworking came at the age of seven when his mother found an old hand crank drill at an antique trading post; this piqued Frank’s interest in tools, and furthermore, in working with wood. When Frank was young, he was given the opportunity to take woodworking classes in the evenings with some of the men in his community. At the age of 12, he built a cedar chest with hand cut dovetails throughout. Frank started his apprenticeship at age 17 with craftsmen in Austin, Texas and then did a long journeyman ship with Master Craftsman, Paul Sellers. Frank has been building furniture full time for nearly 30 years and his work has been featured in both local and national publications, including Woodworker West, Woodwork magazine and Fine Woodworking. Frank has won multiple awards, including Best of Show, People’s Choice, First and Second Place, Best Traditional Furniture and more honors for many of his pieces, including several awards both at the Texas Furniture Makers Show and at the International Design in Wood Exhibition in California. He has also participated in building furniture for the permanent collection at the White House in Washington, D.C. as well as furniture for a past president.