About William

As a young man, William Van Dusen began his career in the gold rush town of Julian. Living and working in Julian allowed him to develop a stronger connection with the forest and the wonders of nature as well as giving him exposure to architectural elements of the 100-year-old buildings. He became involved with restoring many of the older commercial buildings on Main Street. Many of the fences, arbors and exterior trim and millwork seen today were built by William.

After leaving Julian in the late 1980's, he went on to work with several other accomplished woodworkers on a variety of projects including custom doors, windows, traditional furniture, and garden architecture. He was fortunate enough to be involved with building the garden architecture found in the Getty Center and restoring the architectural elements found in the Granger Music Hall, Balboa Theater, Kimball House Museum, Brick Row in National City, USD, and the 1906 Coronado Lodge.

William became more aware of the simple beauty of Craftsman architecture when he began restoration of his own Craftsman cottage and the building of his workshop allowing him to utilize his collection of vintage American made millworking equipment. Focusing almost exclusively on pre-1940 homes and architectural woodwork has allowed William to enhance numerous homes with restoration woodwork and beautiful focal points.