Biography:  Jim Cooper
Director of Project Services

Jim Cooper's involvement in log homes and home building spans more than 15 years. He has been a general contractor, builder, sales and marketing vice president for a major log home company, construction consultant and a writer/ photographer on the topic of log homes and log home construction.

As a builder, his first log home project won an Award for Excellence from the local chapter of the National Association of Home Builders. The home was featured in the April-May 1990 issue of Log Home Living. In 1995 he directed the construction of a 2,600 square-foot log home in the rotunda of Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The home was built, finished and completely furnished and decorated in less than 8 days using volunteer labor from the Minneapolis Building Trades Council. The home, which was open through the 1995 Christmas holiday season was featured in Country Home magazine’s 1996 “Home for the Holidays” issue and raised $300,000 for the Minneapolis Children’s Cancer Research Fund

In 1998, Jim’s book Log Homes Made Easy: Contracting and Building Your Own Log Home was the top-selling book in the home planning category at Amazon.com. His column "Brass Tacks" (now “Savvy Builder”) has appeared regularly in Log Home Living magazine since 1992. His articles and photographs also appear in Log Homes Illustrated, Country's Best Log Homes and Log Home Design Ideas. He has spoken and written about log homes for the Log Homes Council of the National Association of Homebuilders. In 2000, Jim published The Log Home Project Planner, a complete workbook for planning, estimating and managing a log home construction project.

Jim has conducted nationwide workshops on how to be your own general contractor. His Log Homes Made Easy: Six Steps to Success workshops have drawn over 6,000 participants. Currently, Jim consults in residential and commercial projects in the areas of systems building (log, timber frame, modular, panelized), energy efficiency and sustainable construction. He is a member of the US Green Building Council and Log Homes Council of the National Association of Homebuilders.

Biography:  Craig Peister
Director of Design and Construction

“Design is the most important aspect of log home construction”

Mr. Peister is Director of our design and construction efforts assuring that all designs are structurally sound and can be accomplished cost effectively in a log home scenario. He is expert at squeezing costs out and clearly outlining where he believes the client should make changes. He is outspoken and you can be assured that he is always looking out for the client’s best interest.

Craig has been designing custom homes for over 31 years and in the log home business over 22 years in all aspects from design, to construction and sales. Even his lovely wife Betty is in the business (she does log home decorating).

Craig is expert at using computer aided design (CAD) software with three dimensional modeling allowing Big Bear to produce scale plans and cutaways so a client can actually walk through their home with furniture, fireplace, wood stove already in place allowing the client to get a real feel for how the home will look and feel.

Modeling a home design for clients is one of the most important steps in the process of designing a home for our clients. This enables you to see the finished product and get a visual idea of the home. Visualizing what a home will be when completed is very hard for the average person. Modeling a home opens up a new avenue to home designing that wasn’t available years ago.

Log homes are very special as are all of their owners. If you haven’t been in a log home or stayed in log home on vacation, what have you been waiting for? If you like a warm fire, a quiet comfortable home that oozes with romance, then take a long weekend and experience log home living. You’ll be glad you did.

Craig’s motto – “don’t rush the design”

Craig holds an Associate of Applied Arts Degree in Architectural Drafting.