From Code to Craft

For 25 years, I built things you couldn't hold in your hands — software systems, elegant solutions to complex problems, lines of code that had to fit together just right. It was rewarding work, but somewhere along the way I found myself drawn to something more tangible. Something I could shape with my hands, sand smooth, and watch come to life in a way a screen never quite allowed.

So I walked away from a career in software engineering and picked up a set of hand tools.

Today I run Pinnacle Buttes Fine Woodworking out of Lander, Wyoming — a small mountain town that suits me perfectly. When I'm not in the shop, I'm out in the mountains that surround it — backcountry skiing lines most people will never see, summiting peaks, hiking with my family, and carrying a camera to capture what I find out there. Those photos end up on some of my boxes. Those adventures shape everything I build.

My work sits at the intersection of precision and warmth. The engineer in me demands that joints fit perfectly, that dimensions are exact, that every detail is intentional. The craftsman in me knows that wood is alive — that grain, color, and character can't be engineered, only honored.

I build keepsake boxes, side tables, and one-of-a-kind pieces that carry stories. Some carry my mother Janet's artwork — she was an artist who passed away in 2005, and keeping her sketches alive in wood is one of the most meaningful things I've ever done. Some carry your photos, your loved ones' faces, your family's milestone moments. All of them are built to last longer than either of us.

If you've made it this far, you probably appreciate things made with care. I think you'll feel that in every piece that leaves my shop.

— Pete Fusco, Pinnacle Buttes Fine Woodworking | Lander, WY