“Imagination is more important than knowledge,” once said Albert Einstein. “What I am doing today surprises nobody more than myself”, claims Phil Manker, a self-taught designer, engineer, and builder who has built an extraordinary career in conceiving and making things over the past three decades. As a child in Chicago, Phil’s dad fomented his creative spirit in many ways. He would take him on many expeditions to explore the natural world. A trip to Nauvoo, IL to collect geodes, led to his first enterprise, cutting solid quartz-filled ones with his diamond saw into flat discs which he sold in sets to Marshall Field & Co., as coasters. Since graduating from college with a degree in the liberal arts, and working in many different fields, Phil’s still trying to discover what it is he ultimately wants to do. He has always liked to push the envelope, working with the latest materials and techniques. Over his career, Phil has worked for an extensive list of clients, all the while carefully juggling his artistic career. He seems to have unlimited, and untapped, stores of creative energy that carry him on in search of his ultimate epiphany Phil always remains true to his artistic vision, carefully following his inner voice. His work is placed world-wide.