In addition to wood art, I also dabble in games, here is what I have for public consumption:
Don Eisele was born and raised in Kansas and still lives there.
After receiving a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from K-State, Don continued to stay on to work for the University in Manhattan, Kansas. He currently is a Senior Systems Engineer and Team Lead in IT at K-State.
Commonly Don jokes that he has so many hobbies that it's quicker to list the things he doesn't do than the things he does, so we'll just cover the highlights.
Don has played, developed online tools, and ran many tournaments for the "Legend of the Five Rings" card game over the course of several years. During that time, he organized and ran regional tournaments and even world championships for L5R, as well as other games. He also often demoed games at major conventions regularly. Since 2005 he has run the "TengaiCon" board game convention in Manhattan, Kansas.
Woodworking is also one of these hobbies, and he has been producing boxes, puzzles, and other wooden objects since 1998, including thousands of projects he made to give away as prizes for card tournaments.
Don's other leisure activity is aikido. Currently a nidan in the United States Aikido Federation, Don helps run the local Tatsumaki Aikikai dojo, and teaches regularly. Not surprisingly, Don has made many wooden practice weapons for himself and his fellow aikido practitioners over the years. Don also has a shodan in iaido with Seishinkan Iaido and leads classes in Kansas and Missouri. On the list of stuff to do is to start making saya (sword sheathes) for katana and iaito.
In 2015, Don got married and now has two children. He hopes to continue all his hobbies into the next generation.
Produced in affiliation with the K-State 2020 Homecoming Committee.
