Homeschooled from the start, he graduated from high school via a correspondence program with Our Lady of Victory School. Despite a promising start in college, he found it unsatisfying and in 2003 took an opportunity to do an apprenticeship with Remmert Studios – a woodshop that mostly created custom religious furnishings. This turned out to be a good move as he soon discovered that he had the talents required for mastery of the profession.
Besides the apprenticeship, Jacob started attending workshops at Marc Adams School of Woodworking (MASW) in 2004. To date, he has studied under ten masters, one of these being Michael Fortune who invited him to spend some time as an intern in his own studio. He accepted the offer after completing the MASW Masters program and spent nearly a month in Michael’s studio in Canada. He still maintains a connection by assisting his Apprenticeship class each year at MASW. Jacob is also currently working through the school’s Fellowship program which is under Michael Fortune’s direction.
After the internship in Canada, Jacob returned to the States to take up a full time position with Remmert Studios. His nine years of experience with Remmert Studios included dozens of commissions, some of which contracted for as many as eighteen pieces of woodworking. He has completed many projects under his own name including restoration work for a church, a funeral home and the restoration of an early twentieth century Haddorff piano.