You spend your days in a hematopathology lab. What does that entail?
A layman would describe us a cancer screening lab. Hematologics, the company I work for, is a diagnostic services lab founded by a couple of hotshot medical and scientific thinkers in 1995. They started out doing exclusively flow cytometry, now additionally performing karyotyping, FISH, and molecular testing, all in an effort to correctly diagnose cancers of hematopoetic (stem cell) origin. Right now I do bench work in both the flow and molecular labs. Our company's unofficial secondary function is that of a doggy daycare. We're allowed to bring our dogs to work and, although they're banned from the labs, there is usually a small pack of them roaming between offices to beg for treats and stuffing their noses in every garbage can along the way.

That is a far cry from lamp designer! What was the impetus for your project?
When we bought our current house, we inherited what I thought of as an enigmatic and sculptural Mid-century lamp from the previous owner. At our first dinner party a guest pointed out that the "abstract" metal base of the lamp was actually a stylized female nude. I can't imagine how I'd overlooked this fact but from that point on I was done with the lamp, which suddenly looked really corny to me--like something found in skeezy, sensualist, hippy bachelor pad. I loved the shade and wanted to reuse it with a different base. After seeing a display of folded books at Anthropologie, which I frequent more for their arty displays than their flouncy, acrylic clothes, I decided to adapt the technique to make a lamp. Although it's entirely accidental, the shape of the lamp looks a little Constantin Brâncuşi-esque to me. He was a sculptor I've admired since college when I was still on an arts trajectory and before I defected for the sciences.

So did making the lamp serve a personal need?
Incidentally, in a perfect world (free of mortgages and the like) I would probably defect back to the arts. I've always been pulled in that direction but lacked the insight at an early age to see the perfect niche and before I knew it I'd traipsed down another career path. I grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin where the guidance counselor told me succeeding in the arts was as likely as winning the lottery. In his defense, this was before the dot-com boom and the rise of the creative class so he may have been right…. It's a dream of mine to take a crack at professional design some day but until then these small projects provide a lot of satisfaction.

In what other ways are you a “maker”?
I've always just made the stuff I covet if I anticipate the process will be fun and I have even some small portion the necessary skills. My projects are not always successful but I give myself some credit for just going for it. Right now I'm coveting a pair of leather sling chairs designed by Katavolos in the '50s; in order make something inspired by them I'd need to learn how to weld. I wish there were more hours in every day!

What have you been working on lately?
I'm currently working on a jewelry technique that originated in Africa (Uganda, I think?). Beads are made from recycled paper that is cut into long strips and wrapped around a narrow implement, then painted and varnished. Since I like chunky, tacky, colorful necklaces and bracelets on occasion, I've been making some paper beads with all these catalogs I can't get companies to stop sending me, then painting them a bright color (they will match the trim on all the Ethiopian scarves I've been seeing all over). When I'm done, I'll string them on very delicate silver or gold chains, maybe interweaving the chain between rows of beads. I think the contrast in big bright color and fine metal will be interesting.

What does winning the ReadyMade 100 mean to you?
As a design junkie and DIY enthusiast, I'm a fan of several ReadyMade judges' work and feel very honored to be recognized. I don't want to name names or pick favorites or anything but JONATHAN ADLER! (He had me with his ceramics, but the Parker in Palm Springs blew my mind. So inspirational that I had my camera affixed to my eye, trying to capture every element, the whole time I was there.) Winning is a very exciting confirmation that on occasion my amateur forays into the creative process can yield something that everyone can enjoy.