How I got my job: Buck Campbell

Buck Campbell, 37, of St. Louis Park

Job: President/creative director of Minneapolis-based Creative Woodwork International Inc. (CWI) and LabAtomic

Last update: February 2, 2008 - 9:26 PM

Job: President/creative director of Minneapolis-based Creative Woodwork International Inc. (CWI) and LabAtomic

What do you do? We design innovative products and environments and import outdoor wood furniture from Vietnam. Our furniture is crafted with eucalyptus, a handsome hardwood from plantations and forests certified according to Forest Stewardship Council standards. We also design retail spaces and residential furniture systems.

Where is your furniture sold? We design and sell private-label products to Target, Smith & Hawken, and some catalog companies such as Gaiam. We also designed and built the bar for Pizza Luce's downtown location.

How did you get the job? I was working at another company when CWI approached me for some help. I did some creative consulting for CWI, then I designed an exclusive line, and the first year we had great reaction. Target wanted to work with us right away. About two years ago, some people left CWI, and the owner asked me to be president.

Your dad helped influence your career choice? I grew up in Detroit, and my dad was in the automotive business. He's an aerospace engineer, so I was exposed to car factories and steel mills at an early age. I was really intrigued by how things are made and what they are made out of.

Education: I initially went to college to be a sculptor. I was interested in working with metal, mostly. At the time, I couldn't afford the furniture that I wanted, so for lack of a better option, I started drawing and making my own. I had a great opportunity to travel around and learn about different things, so I was in and out of college from 1988 to 2000. I worked as a contract carpenter in Colorado and as a journeyman for a company that had some big projects. I got to work on things like Bill Gates' library and the staircase in his house. In 2000, I earned my bachelor's degree in fine arts with an emphasis in furniture design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

What was your first job as a kid? I wanted a University of Michigan jacket. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, and it was $16. My dad told me to save my money and buy it, so I got a paper route. That wasn't happening fast enough for me, so I got two paper routes. I got enough money to put the jacket on layaway until I could buy it.

Salary: It depends on what part of the field you're in. You can be a furniture designer who works only on technical drawings. Salaries are all over the map. When I met Sam Maloof [an American furniture-making icon], we went outside and looked at his car: It was a brand new Porsche that he got as payment for a chair he made.

AIMEE BLANCHETTE

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