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Lawyers with Artistic License: Michael Carleton
Lawyers Artistic License:
Michael Carleton
BY HEATHER G. SOWALD
Michael Carleton has been crafting book boxes for the past several years, and he enjoys learning new woodcraft and design techniques along the way. In addition to making boxes on commission, Michael has donated many of these outdoor community boxes to non-profits as charity auction items.
Michael grew up in Tipp City, Ohio, learning from his father how to repair and build things around the house. He attended The Ohio State University for his undergraduate, where he met his wife, Melissa Carleton, who is now a partner at Bricker & Eckler. Michael followed his undergraduate by attending Capital Law School (J.D. 2006).
Their preteen children, Sam and Stephanie, began using Little Free Library boxes around Clintonville, and they asked their father to build one for their house. Michael built his first box in 2016, which he says was larger than the subsequent nine boxes he has built so far. The Carleton’s box, which has since been upgraded, is a registered Little Free Library and can be found on Facebook by searching for Windham Road Little Free Library.
He builds the boxes in his garage in his spare time. He finds this creative outlet to be cathartic for him. The intricacy of the decorative detail for the outside of each box determines how much time each takes to make. Michael has experimented with different box styles, including an A-frame, a double decker, and, his most preferred style, an Amish shed design. He also works with various woods and decorative techniques, including using the computerized router equipment at the Columbus Idea Foundry to inlay other woods or colored epoxy in the design. He
sometimes also paints or fire-blackens the wood in the shou sugi ban technique for decoration. Michael crafts his boxes now with multi-height shelves to allow for the taller children’s books and shorter teen and adult books. He also builds them to withstand Ohio weather and personally installs each one for the new owner.
He and Melissa try to buy boxes of books when the library has sales so that they can have a stock in storage to use in their box and to donate to other boxes in other areas. Michael’s goal is to provide more of these books and boxes to many local communities around town.
Between work, coaching, his running club, and family obligations, Michael does not have a lot of spare time to work on these boxes. He is an attorney with the firm of Manley, Deas & Kochalski and is licensed in eight states so far (his applications for Kentucky and Indiana are pending). He mainly pursues defaulted timeshares. He is a CBA Foundation fellow and newly appointed to the CBA Professional Ethics Committee.
Michael enjoys the opportunity to work with wood, learning the culture behind different woodworking techniques, and getting books into the community, especially in underserved areas. He recognizes that there is a real thirst for these outlets, and they truly bring the community together. Michael is clearly doing his part, one box at a time.
Heather G. Sowald, Esq.
Sowald Sowald Anderson Hawley & Johnson hsowald@sowaldlaw.com
