Curt was always passionate about arts and crafts.

He poured through books and magazines, looking at the many ways artists expressed themselves — from painting, sculpture, drawing, three-dimensional media artwork, photography, pottery, hand-made jewelry, hand-made furniture, architecture and even airplanes and cars.

He looked at objects as expressions of art, and always wanted things he found artistically pleasing to his sensibilities in his home. He was passionate about design and said that if he had the money, he would have focused on design and hired others to build the furniture, jewelry boxes, and even the jewelry that he designed.

He loved to create, which is why he focused on one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture; he really did not want to make one of his designs more than once.

Coming from a background as an aerospace engineer in the 1950s and 60s, designing and building rocket engines for Mercury and Apollo, Curt then segued in the 1970s to apprentice with a skilled furniture artisan. And finally, in April of 2005, Curt completed his long-time dream of designing and building his own home and moving to Vashon Island.

Through Curt’s broad interest in arts and crafts, a love of music, his earlier work history as an aerospace engineer, as well as outdoor activities he enjoyed — including kayaking, flying hand-launched gliders and, later in life, radio-controlled planes— Curt was able to converse with many people and formed lasting relationships with people in other walks of life.

He would also offer to help others when they wanted to pursue what he was skilled at, such as bowl turning and woodworking.

Editor’s Note: This memorial of local woodworker Curt Minier was compiled by Vashon Island Visual Artists, with remembrances shared by Minier’s family, after his death on Aug. 27.