Bob Burgoyne likes to work with his hands and believes he is creative; thus, his business, Creative Landscape Accents, was born. Burgoyne started his home-based business in November, after his employer, Colorado Springs Intel, closed.”There’s not a lot of semiconductor presence in town, so I decided I wanted to do something different,” Burgoyne said.Burgoyne, or “Burgie,” described his business as “outdoor carpentry.” He said his business tailors to the outdoors, and his woodworking accents the landscape of a home. Pergolas, koi pond bridges, sheds, trellises and garden benches are just a few of his custom products.Burgoyne said his woodworking skills and the flexibility to design something for an existing setting – as opposed to shopping in a mail order catalog – make his business unique. “If you have an existing structure and you’ve got to find something that will fit rather than build something to suit, that’s where I come in,” he said. “I’m pretty creative and I can come up with ideas.”His interest in woodworking started at an early age. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Burgoyne worked for his dad, a third generation general contractor, after high school. He said woodworking is different than carpentry because, although they both require knowledge of tools, woodworking has an element of finesse.Burgoyne enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1982 and served on a nuclear submarine. He left the Navy in 1988. “I wanted to do my part to serve my country,” Burgoyne said. “I consider myself to be a very patriotic person. The U.S. isn’t 100 percent perfect. I don’t think any place is, but we have a great place to live here. It’s better than a lot of countries that I’ve actually visited.”In Feb. 1983, Burgoyne met his future wife on a blind date. After a few dates, Gina, a travel agent, and Burgoyne decided to go their separate ways, he said. But Burgoyne said their final dinner was a turning point, and they realized they had a lot in common. They were married in 1987 and have two children: Rebecca, a freshman at Colorado State University, and Bobby, a junior at Falcon High School.They moved to Colorado Springs in 2001. After the Springs Intel location closed, Burgoyne and his wife decided to stay in the area. The family liked the area and they felt it was important for their kids to finish school in Falcon, he said. “I’m not a big traveler,” Burgoyne said. “I just like to stay put.”The decision to stay put has opened new doors for Burgoyne. In January, his workshop, based in his garage, will be featured in America’s Best Home Workshops, published by WOOD Magazine.After Burgoyne participated in an online workshop and posted pictures of his workshop, the magazine editor contacted Burgoyne and urged him to complete a formal submission. The requirements for submission included information about the initial idea and design of the workshop and the structure such as floor plans and heating and electrical systems.Burgoyne said he is excited to share ideas with other woodworkers. “If it’s making sawdust, I’m happy,” he said.More on Bob BurgoyneWhat are some of your other hobbies?Computers. I like playing around with computers. I enjoy restoring old tools. My old lathe that I have out there didn’t look that pretty when I bought it. I bought it on Craigslist.(com). It was in pretty tough shape, so I stripped it all down … and now I have a nice lathe, even thought it’s 35, 40 years old. I like tool restoration. And, I’m working on my dump truck restoration. I’m kind of detailing the anthology of the restoration process.What is your favorite memory?I have a ton of good memories – from doing things with my kids and my wife to doing things with my family back home to really everything.Who is someone that you admire and why?I admire my son. And I admire him because my wife and I are placing pretty significant demands on him for school so he does the right decisions and makes the right choices. We’re doing the parent thing. He’s a really good kid. He’s a No. 1 son. I couldn’t ask for a better son.What do you like about Falcon?Even with all the expansion, it still offers a small town appeal. But, I think a lot of that is going away, too, with the expansion out here. I don’t like to move. I love my house. I love my neighborhood. I have fantastic neighbors. That’s tough to find these days.
