Dan joined the board of The Stone Trust (TST) in January 2020. He has been working with stone since he was fourteen years old when he also began helping his father with his general construction business. Dan is a Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA-GB)-certified Level 2 Intermediate waller and instructor. He is the proprietor of Maine Stone Scapes in South Portland, Maine. He currently incorporates dry stone construction around new and remodeled homes in Maine, including retaining walls, entrance ways, steps, and patios.
Dan worked with his father throughout his childhood and has always felt at home on a job-site. As his dad’s business shifted more towards stone work, Dan began to realize that his love of puzzles, creating structures, and working outdoors all came together in his stone craft. Even after college, and a degree in exercise physiology, Dan surprised no one when he decided to commit to a career in stone work.
In 2018, Dan spent four weeks in England learning from DSWA instructors. In May of that year, he passed his DSWA Level 2 test in Canada and he has been going full speed ahead ever since. This year Maine Stone Scapes will employ two certified wallers (plus Dan). Dan’s long term goal is to make dry stone construction more visible and better understood in coastal Maine communities. Creating a site for training and instruction is among Dan’s future plans. In addition to walling projects, Dan also builds freestanding residential and beach sculptures.
Dan hopes his work as a board member of TST will encourage and expand the community of dry stone professionals. With more exposure and recognition, skilled dry stone practitioners will be valued as key members of a quality home construction team, much like plumbers and electricians. Most of all, Dan looks forward to many years of “seeing what I can make with my two hands and a pile of stones.”
Many thanks to fellow board member Paul Peterson for interviewing Dan and writing this profile.