Born and raised in Stony Brook, New York, Robert moved North to study wood technology at Morrisville University after high school.  While at Morrisville, he learned to build Western Red Cedar canoes and worked as a teacher’s assistant in a canoe building class.

In 1999 Robert moved to Fort Bragg to study under James Krenov at College of the Redwoods in Northern California.  There he developed an eye for design and knowledge of working with hand tools.  Unable to find elegant and well made hardware for a tansu project, Robert taught himself to work with metal; this lead to Robert ’s business, Sanderson Hardware.

Currently Robert lives in Fort Bragg, CA were he builds custom furniture, runs Sanderson Hardware and rides the waves, when the surf is up.