The Process

Usually, it starts with a need. I need a desk, I need a frame for this dog photo, or in this case, we needed a coffee table that could fold up under a murphy bed, (or a pullout couch). We had basic dimensions and knew we wanted to go with a darker wood to contrast a lighter couch and white carpet. Sometimes this can come with my attempts to draw out what we are looking for. Thankfully, I am better at building furniture than drawing, but it gives me a great place to start.

I’ll take this sketch and make things a bit more concrete, transferring the rough design to graph paper to look at actual dimensions, or use programs like sketch up or Fusion 360 to really get an idea of what this piece will look like in real life. After getting the sign off on the design, and settling on Walnut for our material, it was time to start building

After heading to the lumber yard, I get back to the shop and let the wood acclimate to the new environment for a few weeks before I start. Then, I begin the process of breaking down the raw components with the goal of creating something both useful and beautiful. After milling, cutting, gluing, sanding, and finishing we hopefully have a product pretty close to the idea in our heads from the beginning.

This is what draws me most to working in this medium, the process, it’s not always smooth and rarely goes exactly to plan. But I keep coming back, drawn to the exquisite beauty held within the wood grain, the potential lying within each board, and the lessons to be learned on each build. The process is nearly as important as the final product.

Check out some of my other projects to get an idea of my work, and if you don’t see what you are looking for, I’d love to hear from you to see if we can design something together.