Barry Bradley’s love of fine woodworking has been developing for more than 30 years.  He has recently retired from 29 years of teaching Woodworking  & Building Trades in Fredericksburg and Houston.  When Barry moved to the Hill Country, his love for creating with local woods developed into a fine art.  His current wood of choice is Mesquite, yet some of his projects include Spalted Pecan, maple and Bois d'arc.  Barry chooses his works by first focusing on the raw material to let it reveal its true colors and unique characteristics.

“I don’t like to mass produce products; many of my pieces are a one-time project. Coming up with new pieces keeps me interested and brings new challenges.”

One of Barry’s true loves is building and restoring wooden boats.  He has built, from the ground up, numerous canoes and kayaks from various woods.  He has also done ground up restoration of several antique wooden boats and canoes of all lengths and designs.

Barry has been in the retail end of woodworking in the Fredericksburg area for over 10 years.   His specialties  include sculpture, furnishings, mantles, lamps, mirrors and unique gift items.  His goal is to spend time on individual pieces which have more of an artistic and sculptural design.

“It has been inspirational for me to have one of my students looking over my shoulder while I am sketching out a design. I've felt that if my creativity inspires future generations to continue in the craft, I have been successful.”