Designer Cory Gans approached us back in 2025 with an idea for a panel discussion that involved a focus on the service industry. It was an amazing night. We recently had him back into the Boiler but this time to talk about himself!

Last year we were lucky to have Steve Payne of Payne|Bouchier Builders on a panel discussion titled “Preservation Vs. Performance,” and we wanted to bring him back to the Boiler Room to revisit two moments—which we played recordings of on the boombox.

We also wanted to hear his origin story–which is amazing! In his youth, Steve hitchhiked across the country doing all sorts of jobs in pursuit of actualizing the knowledge he learned from both his father and his Hampshire College geology professor. This fellow woodworker and mountain climber proved to be a major influence on Steve.