Hollis was raised in the Midwest haven of Ann Arbor, MI. He attended Earlham College in Indiana and in exchange for spending four years pondering the well of misery that we call consciousness, was awarded a degree in Philosophy. He believes that the human fixation on controlling the natural world has led us to a crisis from which we may never recover, and has made it his mission to let the undertow of existence guide him to a state of peaceful symbiosis.
A passion for carpentry came soon after college. The way that a saw or a chisel can shape wood has always amazed Hollis, but more interesting is the way these tools and materials can shape our minds – allowing us to work and think in ways that would have previously been impossible. He traveled the country, letting the discipline of carpentry shape him along the way, searching for a place where he could feel at home. Finally, he stumbled upon Leadville, where the face of the mountain interrogates us, and where the people are strong and honest.
