Michael Ruehle, Owner

Michael Ruehle has over fifteen years experience in the timber frame building industry, trained in the US and Germany in traditional timber framing, and is a member of the Timber Framers Guild. Michael has also worked in conventional residential construction. He has lived and traveled extensively in Asia and in Europe, and studied anthropology and architectural design at the University of Toronto.

“My family's roots are in a cabinet-making and timber-framing part of Germany. As a teen I spent many summers at my great-uncle's cabinetmaking shop where he used traditional methods, and I am proud to have inherited his tools and shop equipment. After college, I worked as a framing carpenter building conventional houses. I also developed a love for Japanese timber work and joinery during the time I worked in Japan as a software developer. I decided to leave the IT sector to pursue something more tangible and lasting, and joined the Timber Framer's Guild to learn about timber framing as it is practiced in the US. I then returned to Germany to learn about the more modern approaches that have evolved there. After a period of working for others to gain hands-on experience, in 2006 I established Arrow-wood Timber Frames to bring my own thinking and approach to the field. I hope to be able to help you realize your own timber project. ” -- Michael Ruehle