Certified

I began working with FileMaker in 1984 (before Claris) using it only for my own business. After joining the Macs of Marin user group in 1993, I began developing solutions for others. FileMaker became my full-time endeavor around 2006. I began attending Devcon in Miami (2013) and POE only once (Cleveland in 2012). I’ve been an active member of user groups in New Jersey, Dallas and now in Denver, Colorado where I relocated in 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic.

My career began in 1972 as a supplier of writing instruments to the promotional products industry. My development of mass-production screen printing was then a breakthrough and eventually became an industry-wide practice. I was active in various trade associations in leadership roles, as a writer, lecturer, consultant and on various task forces regarding technology, professional certification, government affairs and “artwork readiness”. My book, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Your Imprint Here: a Graphic Arts Handbook\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" was published in 2005. Since 1983 I have also consulted with dozens of companies ranging from small entrepreneurships to large corporations including Gillette, Brown & Bigelow and 3M.

In 1993, I launched a graphic arts service bureau in Marin, converting faxes to vector using Illustrator and Photoshop. My studio used QuarkXpress and FileMaker to produce imagesetter output on paper and film for just-in-time delivery to printers and promo-product decorators. After transforming my studio into an online resource (resembling the Uber business model) I sold the enterprise and relocated to Fort Lee, NJ and then a few years later to Dallas, TX to consult again with the Promotional Products Association.

Much of my FileMaker work has involved repair or rebuilding of databases created by other developers and clients whose DIY efforts in FMP, Bento or MS Access were unsuccessful. Rarely have I been approached for a new project by someone with a vision for progress and a budget without constraints.

I have two mottos:
▪ “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’lll always get what you always got”
▪ “There is no such thing as a technology problem that cannot be solved by spending money.”