Born in and raised on Tybee Island, off the coast of Georgia (directly adjacent to Hilton Head Isle and Daufuskie Isle), Jack Anderson began working with wood at a very early age. His mother still lives in the same house less than two blocks from the Historic Tybee Island lighthouse. Since childhood, he has enjoyed exploring the surrounding islands and marshes, including Daufuskie Island. At the age of eight, he was given a construction/woodworking tool kit; This was the beginning of his long career of woodworking and construction.
Being very comfortable on the beach and in the water, Jack later became a lifeguard at Myrtle Beach. He
attended Coastal Carolina University, playing basketball while majoring in marketing.
He later met his future wife Mavis Eaton Anderson, at the University of South Carolina. They traveled a lot including a trip to India and some time living on a sailboat. They eventually settled down in Atlanta, GA. They had a total of four children, while Jack started his first official business, “The Wooden Peg”. It was a small business of selling custom furniture that was made of local woods and was characteristic by having rounded edges, linseed oil finishes, and rugged seamless dovetail and wooden peg construction. During this time, Jack began collecting and storing some of the “exotic” woods of the south, including large boards from Hickory Tubers and huge planks from the “second biggest pine in Georgia.
In order to make more money for his family, Jack began building custom homes for people. He took his woodworking and craftsmanship with him, often doing elaborate custom decks, cabinets and floor plans for clients. Over the years he built many custom and innovative homes including underground houses, houses on stilts on steep hills, and even one house now featured on MTV Cribs (a reality show of celebrity homes). Jack and his wife Mavis are and have always been avid art collectors. They have also supported three of their four children through art schools.
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