Mark Hansen carving a niche from tropical hardwoods
Creating sustainable designs for doors, windows and more
Maura Curley
He’s carved out a niche for his extraordinary wooden products, with artistic detail and island durability. Architects, contractors and homeowners in the Virgin Islands call on Mark Hansen when they’re seeking something both beautiful and functional.
Hansen, who grew up in Long Island in the U.S., apprenticed at a very high-end woodworking shop in New York City. When he moved to St. John in the late 1980’s he took his craft with him, and learned how to apply it to island living.
Two decades later, Mark Hansen’s design business is as solid as the mahogany he utilizes for his doors, window, and furniture.
Beyond the Virgin Islands, Hansen has a global view.
He was a founding partner with Bruce Long, former resident of St. John, in Wooden Bridge Trading, a company in Nicaragua, for which Hansen now acts as a sales agent.
Wooden Bridge Trading manufacturers Hansens’s designs in tropical hardwoods harvested from approved sustainable forests in the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, where the company also runs a training program for sustainable forest management.
Over the past years the Virgin Islands has made Wooden Bridge Trading the largest exporter of wood in Nicaragua.
Hansen’s attributes his success to “knowing what works here,” observing that the Virgin Islands is a good test of durability for both products and people. A longtime resident of the Caribbean, he is hands on for all projects. He meets with clients, creates custom designs and offers a highly personal approach you just can’t get from an 800-number.
For more information visit mhdvi.com.
A rocking chair by Mark Hansen Design. viginvoices.com photo by Susan Mann.
Maura Curley is publisher of virignvocies.com
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