Pete became hooked on treehouses at the age of five, when his father built a treehouse for him. After graduating from Colorado College in 1985 with an economics degree, Pete was struck by a particularly beautiful treehouse just up the block from his home. It was then he decided he needed to become “The Treehouse Guy.” After 25 years – the first 15 of which were spent designing and building single family residential projects in Seattle – Pete has firmly staked his claim to this title.

Pete’s first book about these most wonderful of man-made creations, was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1994, and his fifth book on the subject was published by Abrams in 2009. Through his work with Jake Jacob at Treehouse Workshop, Inc., (a hands-on treehouse education company they co-founded in 1997) he has been directly involved in hundreds of treehouse design and construction projects.

Despite his wonderful career creating amazing treehouses, Pete insists that the best part of his life, is that he has the most beautiful and perfect partner, his wife Judy, and three happy and healthy adult children – one of whom you can read about in the other bios.

Be in a tree!

Born in California and raised on a ranch in the Klamath basin of southern Oregon, Judy is no stranger to beautiful scenery and being close to nature. Judy met Pete at Colorado College over 20 years ago and they have been happily in love ever since. While Pete is designing and building custom treehouses, Judy oversees Treehouse Point, their B&B and events center in Fall City, WA. She is also the head chef for Treehouse Workshop events, and a key contributor to Pete's treehouse books and calendars. On top of all that, Judy is the proud mother of three, one of whom just graduated from college. Somehow she juggles all those roles while always keeping a bright smile on her face.

Daryl was born on the East coast, but moved West with his family at the age of nine. With a general contractor for a father, the building process constantly surrounded Daryl. He soon began working on build sites, doing basic clean-up and acting as gopher. He later moved into the role of carpenter and began honing his skills. During his studies at the University of Washington, Daryl met Pete Nelson in 2000, and began doing construction in the treehouse industry. Since that time, Daryl has participated in building dozens of treehouses in several states and internationally, and is currently the lead for the Nelson Treehouse and Supply build crew.

When not seeking energetic pulses of the oceanic variety, Ian can be found in the forests of the world, engaged in what has come to be known as the art of Treehousing. It is becoming clearer to him that both endeavors are a relationship with process. Treehouse building is just that for Ian; a process - A musical engagement with elements; a synthesis between man, material, and tree. He feels quite blessed to have this creative relationship with his arboreal brethren. A relationship he believes "makes both trees and humans better people."

Born into the world of treehouses, Charlie is Pete Nelson’s son and one of the carpenters on our build crew. Growing up in, among, and dangling from trees, Charlie has enjoyed this unique perspective, and thoroughly appreciates the effect treehouses have on the trees and on the people who interact with them. Charlie has accumulated a broad set of treehouse building skills that he looks forward to passing on to future generations of treehouse builders, just as previous craftsmen have done with him.

Chuck was born in the year of the monkey, which may explain his love of being in the trees. It started at an early age, in the back yard of his Boston childhood home. The love of building has been a preoccupation, and an occupation, for most of his life. Chuck has been a General Contractor in Seattle since the late 1980’s, but has worked on projects all over the country and around the world. Chuck has spent eleven winters building field facilities for science in Antarctica, and spends his summers on the building crew for Nelson Treehouse and Supply.

Seanix is originally from Indiana, but now resides in Seattle, WA with his “lovely and wildly intelligent” wife, Camille. They are proud parents of the Nelson Treehouse and Supply mascot, Abby (shown below). Seanix prefers to keep his feet off the ground, by spending most of his time in the trees. He must come down for very important things like spending time with family, playing musical instruments, and nourishing himself, but plans are underway to alleviate (or as he puts it, “to elevate”) this situation.

Abby is a seasoned construction site mascot. Part canine, part friend, and all love, Abby usually finds a sunny (or at least dry) spot on a porch (or on a lumber pile) from which to supervise the crew. She is very humble however, and does not hesitate to take a back seat and let the crew enjoy all the praise for a job well done.

Devin’s first treehouse building experience was creating his current house, which he states was an effort to “win over a girl.” Devin thoroughly enjoyed the gratification he found in the building process, but also the happiness his project brought to everyone who saw it. Devin noticed that people have a really hard time being grumpy or sad when they are in or near a treehouse. There is a playful mystery associated with treehouse living. Devin is proud to report that he won that girl, and now he enjoys helping create “castles in the sky” for others.

Bubba learned traditional carpentry skills from his uncle James in Texas. He then learned treehouse carpentry skills from Daryl (our crew lead) in Seattle, beginning in 2002. "Bubs" is full of love; he loves solving the unpredictable and unique puzzles that each treehouse project presents. He loves the fellowship he finds in treehousing and the way being around treehouses makes people "glow." He loves his Toyota truck, star drive screws, and fresh saw blades. He loves bean & cheese burritos, dark coffee with cream, and roller hockey. But not nearly as much as he loves his darling wife, Anna.