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Show Dyer carves a niche in Park City Park Record Thursday, October 10, 1991 Page A7 by SENA TAYLOR Record staff writer It's hard to imagine the good life can ever get too good, but for Chris Dyer and his wife Jennifer, they decided it was time to pull up their stakes in southern California when their children became more familiar with the family maid than they were. It's been three years since the Dyers moved to Park City, and Chris looks back on his previous life in high-stress, high-rise construction in downtown L.A. with few regrets. "We made the right choice to come up here," he says. "What I've really learned is where I can stop," in relation to how much money it takes to make a living. Dyer grew up in "good ole L.A." in a family what was heavily oriented toward sports. His grandfather was the head sports writer for the Los Angeles Times in the 1950s and '60s, and his father became and still is a consultant with the Olympic Athletes Museum in L.A., the largest athletic library in the world. "We knew all the celebrities," Dyer said of his family. "We had a pretty interesting childhood. My grandfather was aways involved with somebody." Chris was too. Many of his surfing partners, like James Ames and Peter Graves, were in show business. "I was a heavy-duty surfer. If there was money in that I would have been a professional surfer. I spent 20 years in the water." But he said that got boring after a while, like some of the other talents he dabbled in such as playing volleyball, gymnastics, and trumpet. "Every time I peaked in these things I got bored, so I didn't do it." Dyer earned an associate degree at Santa Monica City College and continued for two more years of schooling at San Diego State Park City Profile 1 i 1 H 1 Chris Dyer relaxes in a lounge he made and carved. working toward a degree in marine biology. But he found after a while that "there was absolutely no money in that or any science degree. When you go to work in that field you become a salesman for your project-the only money you can really generate is through chemical companies, oil companies or government grants," he said. "That was in the '70s. It might not be true today." The issue of money was instilled in Dyer because it wasn't something his family had a lot of. "We had a great time and a lot of fun. But we didn't have a lot of money. My dad spent his money to the maximum point he could afford. When I got older, what I lacked was money, so I decided to find out how to make it" At that point his father told him, "find something you love to do." "He emphasized fun, and said 'if you don't want to regret any point in your life, make sure to have fun.' So that was my premise on how 1 started my life. The only thing that made me extremely happy was the ocean. But I couldn't do it in surfing, that was too boring. And marine biology was too competitive at the time. The thing I really wanted to do was research on marine animals, and there was nothing in that. A person could make S800 a month in that field, and I could make $1,000 a month waiting tables." The thought of going into a career in team sports didn't appeal to him either. "I had been so saturated with it in my childhood that I had no desire. So I gravitated from marine biology and decided to make it my sport instead of my living." That transition led him into a stint with a motion picture photography company, to commercial diving, and then to construction, which still didn't offer the type of salary to which he aspired. It was during that time that Dyer met his wife-to-be, who urged him to find a job that would offer career advancement She was working for Reynolds Aluminum and started as a research chemist in the company's plastics packaging division, then moved into sales on the west coast The friendly competition over who had the better career caused him to contact some friends of the family involved in high-rise construction. "Within six months I was Now It's Even Easier To PickUp Ttiese Phones. . , - j , r i- s , U S WEST Cellular P4000 Slim and compact, the P4000 weighs just over a pound, complete with battery. And its optional Portable Road or Car Installation Kit lets you use it in your car just like a built-in phone. U S WEST Cellular CI 2C Talk about versatile-the C12C performs equally well as a mobile car-to-car, or transportation phone. Buy Now And Save Our special prices on the P4000 and the C12C are good for a limited time only. So pick one up now, while supplies last. Plus$7500 Airtime Credit For additional information call your local cellular phone representative. Authorized Agent Of m EST CELLULAR PegSY Suerman Summit County Cellular 640-0333 Cellular 649-8849 Office Service activation required with purchase while supplies last. Offer expires October 31, 1991. HB3 involved in the management of the company. I'd found my spot in making money," Dyer said. His company specialized in constructing buildings 12 stories and higher in L.A. Their accounts included Arco International, Hughes Aircraft, and notable banks and stock exchange companies. "I did that for 10 years. We had one-half acre in Palos Verdcs, we would vacation several weeks out of the year, and we were into the six-figure income," said Dyer. "But the kids knew the maid better than I did." Somehow that hit a wrong chord with Chris. "When I was growing up our motto was that we had so much love we could have given it away for money. So all of a sudden I find that the kids are running to the maid when I'm trying to discipline them. I'm making more money in one year than my dad made in 10 years. And it hit me real hard. Money was becoming more of a detriment than an asset So we decided that it was time to pack it up and get out." On the advice of a friend, Chris and his family decided to check out Jeremy Ranch, which led them to the Park City area. On their first visit they put a contract on a house that had been foreclosed on, but that didn't work out. The following week they found a fix-up fix-up house on Old Ranch Road that suited their new style. That was October of 1988. "My whole background was in commercial high-rise buildings. But I didn't want to do that again. The pressure for that money was so big that I had completely burned out We bought down on the house and decided we could live on one income. I watched the kids, and Jennifer kept working." By that time Jennifer had gravitated to other companies but was still working in the packaging industry. The firm she was employed with at that time was urging her to move east-cither to North Carolina or Atlanta- and that didn't appeal to them. "We liked Park City so much that we didn't want to move," said Chris. "So we made up our minds that we had to come up with our own businesses and be independent." She started her own brokerage business in packaging, and Chris started a wood-carving business. mm. Hi Dyer, at work in his shop. "I've always had an affinity to wood, and I found that ornamental wood carving was an undeveloped industry in this country," he said. "It's big in Europe and England. It's very developed and unionized there, and there's big money in it." Chris hooked up with a man by the name of Ian Argyle-the only master wotxl carver from England who works in the United Statcs-and Statcs-and began taking classes from him. Argyle, who lives and leaches in San Francisco, currently has a contract on the restoration of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. His project is to make courtesy screens around the alter. Dyer started taking classes from Argyle last year, and goes into his shop for two weeks at a time to learn about classical wcxxl carving, antique reproductions, goldleafing and other skills. Dyer learned how to market carvings and how to develop a line of production pieces. He got his first contract through Park City's Quality Interiors located on Main Street. Since then he has gotten some high-end contracts with designers in L.A., and is hoping to show his work at the Design Center there. Ultimately, Dyer hopes to expand his home-based operation into a staff of 15 people. Looking back at the past several years, Dyer has found that he made the right choice to drop his high-profile high-profile job on the mist and move to a simpler life. With ihcir two children, the Dyer family operates a "mini-farm" of chickens, goats and turkeys. Sheep are planned for the future. When he's not carving, he's active as a s(xxcr and baseball coach for his sons, and likes to ski, surf and scuba dive when he has time. He's also a Sunday Schixl teacher at the Presbyterian Church. If he has any complaints about the transition in lifestyle it's that it was a bit too drastic. "We spent a lot of money to remodel this place. We found our bottom, and we found out that we have to live on 'X' amount. We bit off loo much at one time, but it's starting to work for us now. We're starting up again financially. "What I've really learned is where I can slop" between having tix) much money and what is r i r i i lutuA yji i iiianiii uii'ui'omiiu carvings on furniture. "There's enough ol a market out there lor that," says Dyer. "I want to raise my kids, take thpm In crvTPr o:imp anH on fishing. 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