Today we’d like to introduce you to Raul Alejandro.
Hi Raul, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a retired retired structural engineer and commercial general contractor, with a long and fulfilling career in the construction industry. An Arizona native, I graduated from Arizona State University (ASU), where a strong foundation in engineering and design set the stage for a successful career in both structural engineering and contracting.
Now retired, I have turned a lifelong interest in design into a creative pursuit, focusing on intricate and captivating geometric string art. This new passion allows me to combine precision and creativity in a way that reflects the same attention to detail and problem-solving skills honed throughout my engineering career.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been an interesting road. It took me awhile to find the right kind of thread, nails and the type of wood that would achieve the three dimensional look I wanted to achieve.
I am partially colorblind, red/green is hard for me to distinguish. My secret weapon is my wife. She helps me select the best color combinations, otherwise they would be bright contrasting colors!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I graduated as a Civil Engineer with a specialty as a structural engineer in the Aerospace Industry. I worked on various construction project, doing the design, contracts, work directly with subcontractors and field work.
After working in that industry for about 11 years, I became a plant manager for a manufacturing company. I worked for about 15 years with the company.
I partnered with another Civil Engineer and became a Commercial General Contractor. We did variety of construction jobs throughout the southwest, including work for large companies such as Tesla and Intel along with medical facilities, power plants and small business. This work involved from ground up construction to Tenant Improvement work.
I retired three years ago. I have always drew geometric work, some people call it doodling. My wife noticed the drawing that I did and stated it looked like string art. This gave me the idea of making geometric design using embroidery thread, but use different wood shapes to get the look I wanted. So I created Thread Design by Raul and started creating different designs.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in Gilbert/Mesa, Arizona. I am the oldest among 4 siblings. All girls. You grow up pretty fast when you are the oldest and are responsible for your younger siblings! It taught me to be understanding, empathy and responsibility.
My interest were sports, baseball, basketball, tennis, anything that involved a ball. I did a lot of fishing with my dad and as I got older, I did a lot of hiking and camping in my youth
Contact Info:
- Website: https://threaddesignbyraul.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threaddesignbyraul
