and traveled in it extensively, including to New York where he completed his master's in fine arts at Bard College. Though the camper attracted a lot of attention and goodwill, he realized eventually that living that small was not a freedom after all. "But it was necessary to go through those five years of my life where I didn't pay rent."

You might have seen Nelson's structures - a tree house, bike, car and boat - at Mollusk Surf Shop (where he lived for a while, too) in the Outer Sunset. He's also built out two motorboats and six vehicles, including a Toyota as Artist In Residence at Facebook.

Nelson lives just around the corner from Mollusk with his wife, sculptor and painter Rachel Kaye, and their 3-month-old baby, Romy.He's currently remodeling the 750-square-foot ground floor of the duplex they own with friends and he's building a studio out the back. Not surprisingly, the place has an artsy beach cabana feel with succulent gardens, an outdoor shower and his 15 surfboards stacked at the side.

Everywhere, timber is piled high: finding beautiful old wood is his obsession and he spends much of his day driving to building sites. His wife quips that is actually his job.

"He gets a call from someone who has old wood, and he can never turn it down. I joke that he's a wood hoarder. A lot of people think new is better but Jay knows that old wood comes from bigger trees and is grainier and has a history. He has a gift