Gabe Chiu

Gabe Chiu describes himself as a “career carpenter” and has been specializing in this area for his entire professional life. This began in SoCal and continued in New Mexico, where he enjoyed getting to work on seismic retrofits, historic restorations, and including big beams and other features of Southwest architecture in remodeling jobs.

He grew up in Santa Barbara and then spent time at three different colleges. Gabe loved living among the redwoods when attending Humboldt State University, near the ocean while studying at California State University at Monterey Bay, and amidst Mexican culture while in art school. He specialized in abstract expressionist oil paintings, which later informed how he approached carpentry in California, during his 12 years working in Sante Fe, and now as a member of Kala’s finish carpentry team.

On weekends, Gabe spends most of his time with his 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. When asked what it means to be generous, Gabe said, “Giving of yourself to other people – your time and your energy. And not being selfish.”