Julia Tinker grew up with wood in her hands and has never really put it down. Thirty years of woodworking, a published book, a high school Spanish classroom, and more hours at the lathe than she can count. She works from her garage shop in Fresno, salvaging trees from across the San Joaquin Valley that would otherwise be lost forever — eucalyptus, walnut, cork oak, Bradford pear — each one rescued and turned into something that will outlast all of us.

Her first lathe came from a friend's father's estate sale — a man who had dreamed of turning wood but passed before he ever got the chance. Julia taught herself on that lathe, determined to honor the dream he never got to live. She's never stopped.