Working with my hands is essential to my own care and feeding, and so my hands have developed an intelligence of their own. Each material I become familiar with offers points of reference for understanding how that material behaves in manufacturing, in a home, or in a shipping crate. I understand how brass changes as it work-hardens, how stoneware and earthenware chip differently, how different textiles respond to abrasion. Most relevant to my design work: I understand that the material itself often determines the upper limits of efficiency.