This is my story

So how did I end up here? I didn’t plan on any of this. I went to college in the early 1990’s for Respiratory Therapy and I worked as a respiratory therapist for 8 years. Then I had my son Gabe and changed careers to IT for a little over a decade and that’s where I met my wife Nancy.

Around 2011, I found a way to rekindle my comic book collection passion. It bothered me that I had my collection in my attic just sitting there in the plastic films in boxes along with my other collectibles like baseball cards, old toys, legos, army men and Star Wars figures. So I created an Ebay store and started selling and buying comics. Then I started visiting auction sales and estate sales buying and selling coins and old currencies and other antiques. I created WillsAttic as a result.

Then one day my life changed. Around 2013 I was diagnosed with a condition called Tinnitus. One day out of the blue it started and severely affected my ability to sleep and changed how I processed information. (Tinnitus is a constant ringing or whistling in your ear). It was driving me crazy and I had to leave my job. Because I couldn’t sleep I was up late at night on YouTube and Reddit. It gave me a chance to explore to keep myself from focusing on the ringing. I started researching how to convert silver and gold electronic waste (from old computers I never got rid of sitting in my attic). I bought a smelter. I removed all the metal from the computer mother boards and melted a “blob”. I sold that blob on Ebay for 50 bucks.

I started thinking if someone gave me 50 bucks for a blob what else could I make? So my first year of melting was creating blobs and skulls. I continued to research and officially started in precious metals. I got bored of seeing rounds and bars. I myself wanted silver legos and silver army men so that’s when I started delftclay casting. I did that for about a year and then I levelled up and transitioned to vacuum casting. But everything I cast starts with what I think is cool or sparks a memory. It’s about uniqueness which I think is what most collectors want. I don’t have the ability to mass produce items (and I don’t want it quite frankly). Every Barrel of Monkeys I cast for example is unique with beautiful unique imperfections because I do it by hand. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the silver community and the people I found that shared my passion for the craft.

I’m a proud permanent New Yorker. I love all animals and have two golden retrievers Luke and Leia and two cats Kyla and Rae (the Force is strong with us).

And last – just as out of the blue as it came, my Tinnitus simply stopped one day about 4 years later. Maybe it was a sign that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.