Andrew Leary was born in the UK, but his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was six months old. He spent most of his childhood growing up in Westport, where he had to take French at school instead of indulging in his passion for woodwork and metalwork. As soon as he could, he made his own very basic lathe, and began making spinning wheels. On moving to Wellington, this soon developed into making furniture and joinery in general, using recycled and recovered timbers. A few years later he was asked to make a kaleidoscope, and this was the path he followed for more than the next thirty five years. He built his own vacuum plant to make his own front - surface mirrors, and because he wanted to make a kaleidoscope that would look at a soap bubble, invented and patented his own optic system. After moving to Kerikeri he began to make kaleidoscopes that also featured his metal and acrylic work. He has an award for Creative Ingenuity from the Brewster (kaleidoscope) Society in the USA, and one of his kaleidoscopes is in the prestigious James Wallace Collection, in Auckland . Recently he spent two years living and working in India, and while there decided it would be a good idea to write a book that would be of benefit to people with their own workshops, by passing on a lifetime of practical ideas. Andrew has two children, and now lives in Kerikeri with his wife, where he is currently working on a vacuum plant to make his own dichroic glass. His passion for kaleidoscopes and fine work continues.