In the 2009 book Shop Class as Soulcraft, author Matthew Crawford writes, “There are fewer occasions for the kind of spiritedness that is called forth when we take things in hand for ourselves, whether to fix them or make them.” It took time for Fritz Jünker to take this notion of fulfillment through craftsmanship to heart.

In the past he’d tried his hand at a variety of artistic endeavors: running a historic theater, founding a nonprofit music organization, even producing an indie comedy film. But when he discovered how craft and design could combine into something greater than the sum of their parts, the heart of a master builder began to emerge. Nowhere is this more visible than in his own condo, a unit in the landmark Portland Plaza that Jünker remodeled and reimagined.