In the late 70's he found a creative home at Montclair College, one of the best-kept secrets in the realm of fine arts schools on the East Coast. Located only a stones throw from the art scene of Soho in lower Manhattan, most of Montclair's professors and instructors had gallery associations in what is considered by many to be the world wide epicenter of fine arts. A short ride into Soho for the gallery opening of one of his teachers became a regular occurrence. The influence of these experiences has had a lasting effect on the way Doug looks at and produces the fine arts and crafts he has become known for.

After graduating in 1981 with a split degree in Photography and Metalworking, Doug embarked on a commercial photographic career that eventually brought him to Southwest Ohio. It was here that the urge to revive his creative expression through fine jewelry fabrication and casting hit him. He built a small jewelry studio in his home and began designing and creating works in silver and gold, reviving and expanding on the styles he developed while at Montclair. This work eventually led to a small business of selling Fine Art Jewelry at regional arts festivals where he has been honored with numerous awards for the style and quality of his work.

After 10 years of fine Arts and Craft shows, Doug began to develop a new idea. He wanted to create something that was a departure from the work he had done in the past, and to sell through galleries around the country in a way that he could not do with his jewelry. In short, he wanted to do something that no one else was doing. After seeing a plain, wooden hour glass in 1998, the idea came to him that he could apply his metalworking skills and creativity to produce a more distinctive timepiece. After experimenting with a variety of methods he taught himself how to cast the spindles for the hourglass in pewter. He also had to learn the necessary woodworking skills to be able to produce the wooden bases for the timers; fine woodworking being something he had never done before.

The results of his efforts are the Crane & Co. Sandtimer. A decorative yet functional piece of Fine Craft that he has been producing in his one man studio since 1999 and selling with great success in some of the finest galleries and shops coast to coast. His formal training in metals is apparent when you look at the different designs for the pewter spindles, the inspirations for which he takes from various aspects of his life's experiences. Each spindle has a particular story about Doug to tell, weather it's the frozen lakes of his youth in the Ice design, the trip to “Falling Water” that inspired the Geo spindle or the grape arbor in his back yard that influenced the Grapes motif. People seem to find something to relate to in each of his designs because, like most creative expression, they have their basis in real life experiences. As time goes on, Doug plans to continually change the spindle designs as his life's experiences change, to evolve and grow as he does. He has said, “I hope that in the next 10 years my designs look completely different than they do today, because that means that I've lived life and experienced new things and allowed those new things to be reflected in my work.”.