Although I have traveled extensively throughout the United States, Louisville, Kentucky has been my home for all my 50+ years. I have been involved in photography and handmade crafts on a part-time basis since my early teens.
Professionally, I spent over ten years working in television and video
production over public, corporate and private television networks.
That was followed by several years working as a corporate operations director and I.T. manager. I finally decided to pursue my passions of photography, website development and knifemaking full-time.
My varied
interests and offerings keep me plenty busy but when I do get some free time I
like to ride my motorcycle or maybe hang out with some friends and occasionally
enjoy a good cigar.
Knifemaking:
After collecting and admiring knives for many years, I had the extraordinary
opportunity to meet and learn knifemaking from one of the true masters of the
craft, Gil Hibben. Gil has been a professional knifemaker for over 50 years and
is recognized around the world as one of the best custom knifemakers. For
several
years now, Gil has been teaching me how to make high quality functional custom
knives. In the process, Gil and his family have become family to me and I am
proud to call Gil my brother.
I formed my company Carter Crafts LLC in May 2007 and have steadily dedicated more of my time to knifemaking. I was accepted as a probationary member of the Knifemakers Guild in 2007 and earned my full voting membership status in 2009. One of my knives won the "Best Custom Straight Knife" award at the 2008 National Knife Collectors Association Spring Show in Shepherdsville, KY.
My custom handmade knives are available for sale
in our
online store and you can learn more about my
knives by clicking
HERE.
Photography:
It was a natural conclusion to combine my love of knives with my love of
photography. I found that there was a niche for knife photography as knife
magazines, knifemakers and collectors often need high quality photos of their
knives. My knife photography has been published in magazines, used in
advertising, and on Websites. I am also a fairly frequent contributor to Blade
Magazine and other knife publications with photography and writing. You can seem examples of my photography and learn
more about the photographic services that I offer by clicking
HERE.
Mammoth Ivory Jewelry:
Knifemaking led me into another craft, jewelry making. I often use ancient
ivory from wooly mammoth tusks in making the handles for my knives. I found that
I often had pieces left over that were too small for a knife handle but too
precious and beautiful to throw away. A friend taught me how to make beautiful
and unique jewelry from my leftover pieces of ivory. My mammoth ivory
jewelry is available for sale in our
online store
and you can learn more about this rare and beautiful craft by clicking
HERE.
Website and Data Services:
I have many years experience in creating websites, databases, complex
spreadsheets, data analysis and reporting, and custom applications. I offer my
services individually at hourly rates or according to the project. I also offer
complete turn-key website services. You can learn more about the computer
related services that I can provide by clicking
HERE.
Contact me:
Inquiries about any of the services that I offer can be made by emailing me at
mike@cartercrafts.com
