ABOUT KEN & THE KOH COMPANY
Born in the Winter of 1950 I had to make my entry through my mother’s pneumonia wracked body, which made everyone nervous about my safe arrival. To this day those who know me are still nervous.
My father died just before I turned two, which left only my older brother, my mother, and me. We moved from Seattle’s Capital Hill to Kenmore, which is on the North Shore of Lake Washington when I was seven years old.
At that time Kenmore was out in the sticks and I happily became a country kid. Our apartment in Seattle was in a bit of a rough neighborhood, so consequently I spent a lot of time indoors. After the move to Kenmore I continued staying indoors a lot. But not so much for fear of my neighbors but in the pursuit of my new love, drawing!
I picked up a pencil and have never put it down. Mom was thrilled that I liked art (her sister was a graphic designer for the Seattle School system).
I will spare you the rest of the story of my growing up, except to say I became a true child of the 60’s with lots of drugs, sex, and rock n roll; I was the percussionist for the Stadium Rock Band, Heart.
After leaving them I continued down that path for a while, eventually leaving music to open a picture frame shop and gallery (which didn’t do too well). Still playing occasionally, two old friends and I formed a small three piece country rock band, where I met my first wife, Jane. We were married that winter and stayed together through 23 years with two lovely children.
Those two decades were years of designing and drafting, graphic art, and carpentry. Sadly the fine art went away during this period.
Remarried now to a wonderful lady (with cool dogs) I am back at fine art as well as graphic design.
One other thing needs to be noted; in the Spring of 1982 I became a “born again” believer in the Carpenter from Nazareth. Eventually I gravitated towards the “Hebrew Roots” movement, which eventually led to me shepherding a small home church for 4 years. The lessons of this chapter of my life are with me still today, motivating and inspiring me.
The events of 911 left me without employ-
ment, and friends in Florida got us to move down there. It was the worst 3 years of our lives and we eventually moved back out West and settled in Medford.
We had just gotten the KOH Company on its feet (doing architectural design, drafting and graphics) when the Sub-Prime mess happened. I knew we were done for, so faced with minimum wage jobs anyway, we decided to move to the ocean and have a whack at coastal living — so far, we love it! I’m finally home!
RESUMÉ
2007 – 2009, Newport, OR Graphic Design for the Newport News-Times, Sublette County Examiner, and Depoe Bay Beacon 2005 – 2007, Medford, OR Architectural Design & Drafting; Carpentry; Fine art, Graphic Art, and Arch. Renderings
2002 – 2005, Deland, FL Design, Project Management, Lead Carpenter, etc. Converting a 1920’s Motor Court Apartments into a state of the art Veterinary Clinic; also did a number of remodels & restorations
1998 – 2002, Tacoma, WA Arch. Design / Drafting for N.W. Home Design. I was the lead designer for numerous houses in the 5,000 – 8,000 s.f., and one 15,000 s.f. job designed for a private island in Bremerton, WA
1997-1998, Bellevue, WA First tier Tech. in Microsoft’s Internet Data Center. 1985 – 1997, Poulsbo, WA The KOH Company did scores of homes and lt. comm. projects around the Puget Sound; also did quite a bit of graphic design and architectural renderings. 1982 – 1984, Seattle, WA Worked for TRA Architects designing signage and casework design on projects like Dullas Airport in Washington DC and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. 1976 – 1981, Kirkland, WA Lead designer for Donogh Homes, a 200+ unit a year builder 1972 – 1976, Bothell, WA Wild Oat’s Gallery & Frame Shop
Currently the KOH Company is offering these products and services:
Fine Art: Drawings, Prints & Cards Graphic Design & Illustration & Web Site Design Photography: Fine Art & Commercial: Prints & Cards: Photo Documentaries Architectural Design, Drafting and Rendering