Hello, good people! My name is Jama Tehuti, a native New Yorker and carpenter by trade. In 2001, I embarked on a new chapter of my life by moving to Punta Gorda, Belize, where I established a small hotel, hostel, restaurant, bar, and woodworking studio. You can find more about it at www.apieceofground.com. Being a carpenter with a beard, traditional dust masks have always fallen short for me. In Belize, working with tropical hardwoods has presented significant challenges. Despite my efforts at dust control, including crafting my own 6-inch ducting from hardwood and Masonite due to the prohibitive cost of 6” PVC in Belize (check my social media for visuals), these methods proved insufficient.

That's when I discovered Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (P.A.P.R.s), and it felt like a revelation. However, the high cost was initially a deal-breaker. This led me on a deep dive into manufacturers, eventually finding a solution, purchasing a sample, and testing it in my shop. The results were all smiles, leading me to devise a plan to share this innovation with fellow woodworkers. This journey from discovery to action is something I'm now fully committed to – you're welcome!

Now, you might be wondering, "What on earth does 'fish bladder' mean?" If you've read this far, thank you, and since your curiosity has brought you here, I'm happy to share the story behind the quirky name.

I'm from a time before YouTube was a thing. Many years ago, I apprenticed under a carpenter named George Bell, a beautiful soul who took the time to teach me invaluable skills. His company was named Vesica Piscis, a mathematical shape formed by the intersection of two disks with the same radius, which he also used to teach me how to bisect an angle. It always struck me as profoundly smart and quintessentially George. Naturally, when it came time to name my own business, Vesica Piscis was the obvious choice. Upon researching the name, I discovered that this sophisticated term for a complex geometric symbol translates to "fish bladder" in Latin. Perfect!