The owner and creator of Muga, David Laws, has practiced Japanese carpentry for nearly 30 years. He graduated from Montana State University with a BA in architecture and studied at the University of Copenhagen and Kusan University in Korea with an intent to integrate architecture with the beauty of nature.

Post graduation, David realized he needed to be part of the entire design process in order to relate the subtilties of art into projects that he executed in the field.   A desk job behind the computer would never fulfill his vision.   

David started studying under Dale Brotherton of Takumi Co in Seattle Washington.  This was integral in developing a deeper understanding of Japanese woodworking, the tools, and joinery used.   Davids interest grew in the Japanese language and culture which stimulated his interest in tea house construction and eventually the study of Chado – the way of tea.  David received a scholarship to intensify his study of tea for a year at Urasenke Semen Gakko in Kyoto Japan in 2004.  David believed studying tea was necessary in understanding how a tea house was designed and constructed.  

While in Japan, David continued to work independently and with a variety of construction companies on private homes, tea houses, and temples.  

David returned to the United States in 2008 and designed and built a variety of projects- including working on the Japanese Garden at Boulder Falls Inn (Lebanon, Oregon) and the Portland Japanese Garden.  

Currently he has relocated from Portland Oregon to the Wallowa Mountains in North Eastern Oregon (Union) to work on Quadrant 25.