My hands have always been a bit smarter than me.  At a basic level, it’s muscle memory.  At a higher level, it’s insight or intuition that flows through.  I’ve been gifted a small talent.  To be clear, I have never owned it.  And when I think I do, I’m reminded, again and again, of the truth.  That it’s on loan.  Folks who have realized their life’s prime directive are guided or pushed to fulfill a role.  Some fight it, others embrace it, but struggle is another story. 

Me, I make things.  From conception to delivery.  I can’t stop.  I believe a maker’s talent is a spectrum, from mechanical on one side to art on the other.  I believe I land just before art on the spectrum.  My preset requires utility and beauty to bond.  Objective and subjective fighting for one starring role.  Negotiations can be tough.  The more ego, the more pain.  Design as a descriptor is subjective: the amount of cream in coffee, watches, cars, and AI.  All can be described as design; it’s a wide highway. 

My lane is (utility + materials + beauty) / (cost + time) = item.  The item can be a doorstop or an entire building.  In many ways, both use the same skill set.  I’ve been fortunate to have designed many doorstops and even more buildings — RAC Design Build. 

I’ve recently narrowed my focus to the design, manufacturing, and installation of doors and windows — Studio Cortez.  From the progression of the approach to the entrance of the building, to the life-giving sunlight welcomed in — doors and windows are the soul.  Scale, materials, color; all are important but windows are in a league of their own.  That is why I make them.

~ Rick Cortez