Meet the Team
David Geisen
Founder & Designer
Born & raised in Washington State, David studied anthropology and photography before learning carpentry at the renowned Wood Technology Center in Seattle. He apprenticed with two of the best craftsmen in the Pacific Northwest: first under Treehouse Master Pete Nelson (Nelson Treehouse & Supply, LLC) from 2007-2009 and then under master builder Jon Romanelli (Timbers & Tilth, LLC) from 2010-2012. David founded Wild Tree Woodworks in 2013, continuing the tradition of crafting fine spaces while honoring the trees from which we receive our most sublime building material.
Johannes Heitzeberg
Operations Manager & Carpenter
Originally from the foothills of California, Johannes has been a core member of Wild Tree Woodworks since 2016. He has enjoyed craftsmanship in a number of forms throughout his life, originally developing his passion for woodworking within his father’s workshop and further developing his skill while working for his father’s construction company. Johannes was the chef at a favorite Seattle restaurant, and he regularly makes pottery and works in leather. He enjoys making functional art and sharing his creations with loved ones, most notably wooden children’s toys. Influenced by his personal experiences in nature, Johannes has an appreciation both for the forests he works in and the final products he creates — blending the playfulness of childhood with the functionality of home.
Ben Murphy
Project Manager & Lead Builder
Ben has worked in an array of carpentry specialties over the last decade, from remodeling on the Gulf Coast of Florida where he grew up, to historic home and yacht restoration in Connecticut while he attended college, to furniture-making in Vermont and Australia. In 2017 he joined Wild Tree Woodworks and has found treehouse building to be the perfect outlet for what he loves most about building, design, and craftsmanship. Ben's favorite part of treehouse work is the head scratching — from dangling in the trees while setting up rigging systems, to framing complex roofs, to building custom doors and windows — no other trade offers quite the same range of problems that need solving.
Aaron Nelson
Carpenter
Renaissance man Aaron carries an array of skills in his tool belt. After coming of age in Eastern Washington, he worked as a commercial actor before moving west and falling in love with carpentry at Holden Village. He has built pedestrian suspension bridges, has worked in a high-end cabinet shop, and then he found his home at Nelson Treehouse & Supply where you may have seen him on the Treehouse Masters TV show. He continues to nurture his passion for building here at Wild Tree Woodworks, where his handsome demeanor and friendly personality are enjoyed by all.
Patrick Hutchison
Carpenter
A Washington native, Hutch’s first treehouse was made of old decking and about a mile of black landscaping plastic. The raccoons loved it. Twenty years later he bought a ramshackle cabin in the Cascades and got to work fixing it up, a project that ultimately inspired him to quit a career as a writer and return to the woods. Together with a friend he co-founded Landing Pads and got to work building tiny cabins which have been featured by Cabin Porn and Outside magazine. When not up in the trees with Wild Tree Woodworks, you can find him working on his own cabins on Hood Canal.