My Shop and Me

My name is Ian, and I craft fine woodwork out of my home in central Ohio. For years, my passion has been not only woodwork, but building a business that makes it easy for you, the customer, to get the perfect piece of furniture or woodwork.

I have ample experience using modern large machinery, and vintage style hand tools. I have generations of family heritage of makers and creators, who worked hard to support their families. Some of the tools I still use today were owned by my grandfather and great grandfather.

I am partially self taught, although I did learn a great deal from my grandfather. I enjoy using power tools to do the bulk of the work, and using my hand tools to refine and create small details. I invest a good portion of my profit back into my workshop, to help me create a safer and nicer environment for myself, and create a better piece of woodwork for you, the client. I believe in ethically sourced materials and natural finishes that don’t contain harmful chemicals. I mix my own unique blend of natural ingredients in house. It’s a durable, safe, and long lasting finish that’s easy to repair if need be.

Every project begins and ends at my workbench. Its handbuilt by me, and is truly the heart of my shop. It has a solid wood top, three feet by four feet, and 4 inches thick. The whole bench weights upwards of 600 pounds. It took four months to complete, and is probably the project I’m most proud of. It feels only right that a nice, handmade piece of furniture should come from a nice, handmade worksurface, instead of one from a factory.

While most projects are designed specifically for the client, I do occasionally build something of entirely my own design. When something in the world inspires me, I spend some time drawing plans for a project that incorporates it. 10% of those projects are created, and the rest are unused plans collecting dust. I hope someday to make all of those projects.

Part of what I love about this business is the ability for me to work one on one with customers to help realize their vision for the perfect piece. When you submit a custom order, I create a portfolio for the project. I design 2 or more different variants, typically at different price points, and send you a computer rendering of each separate design as well as pricing information.

While fine furniture is expensive, I do my best to keep the price down without reducing quality. Each item is priced fairly and consistently, using a program that I designed. Because of my portfolio system, I store all information applicable to a project. This means if you run into issues and want to pause the project, we won’t have to start the design process from the beginning. I do my best to meet deadlines and be prompt with communication. No customer is a priority customer, even if you spent more. All projects, no matter how small, are built with the same care and attention to detail. Therefore, all clients ought to be given the same treatment and care.