Understand
Begin with the people, place, constraints, and actual problem—not a predetermined answer.
Building is a way of thinking.
I’m Mike Nichols. I make physical and digital things in San Diego, California, moving between construction, furniture, objects, websites, and software.
Nichols Building Co. is a legally registered business based in San Diego, California, founded and operated by Mike Nichols.
Those may look like separate disciplines, but I experience them as the same kind of work: understanding how something needs to function, finding the right structure, and carefully resolving the details.
I’m interested in work that is useful without being ordinary, considered without being precious, and made to remain valuable over time.
“Pay attention to how it will actually be used.”
How I workDirect, curious,
Direct, curious,
and collaborative.
Make
Use drawings, prototypes, models, and conversation to turn an idea into something tangible.
Refine
Stay with the details until the result feels clear, useful, and inevitable.