Mark Tan is a first-gener­a­­tion Cana­dian born and raised in Toronto by Filipino immi­grants. He produces inter­ac­tive sculp­tures made from reclaimed solid wood, found mate­ri­als, and domes­tic construc­tion build­ing mate­ri­als at an archi­tec­tural scale. His work expresses the emotional value of precon­ceived notions, longing, and discon­nect­ed­ness in seeking accep­tance within a commu­nity. He received his MFA in Furni­ture Design & Wood­work­ing in the Craft/​Material Studies program at Virginia Common­wealth Univer­sity in Rich­mond, VA. His work has been exhib­ited inter­na­tion­ally at exhi­bi­tions such as the Mesa Contem­po­rary Arts Museum in Mesa, AZ., Hillyer Contem­po­rary in Wash­ing­ton, D.C., Messler Gallery in Rock­port, ME., Patter­­son-Apple­­ton Gallery in Denton, TX., Fuller Craft Museum in Brock­ton, MA., Wharton Esher­ick Museum in Malvern, PA., Aspen Art Museum in Aspen, CO., and the DeLeon White Gallery at the Glad­stone in Toronto, ON. He has partic­i­pated in resi­den­cies at Arrow­mont School of Arts & Crafts and the Windgate Artist in Resi­dence at San Diego State Univer­sity. He is currently an Assis­tant Profes­sor of Sculpture/​Wood at Arizona State University.

A Maine College of Art and Design student and the 2024 Anne Honey­well Orr scholar, Jillian is bring­ing joy to wood­work­ing and furni­ture by exper­i­ment­ing with shape, color, and mate­r­ial. She infuses her work with the playful and emotional parts of herself and the people she loves, creat­ing work that portrays life in her twenties.

Nathan Sheu is a furni­ture designer and fabri­ca­tor whose work inte­grates tradi­tional craft with digital fabri­ca­tion and ecolog­i­cal design. A grad­u­ate of Cali­for­nia College of the Arts with a BFA in Furni­ture Design and minors in Indus­trial Design, Ecolog­i­cal Prac­tices, and Compu­ta­tional Prac­tices, Nathan’s prac­tice is rooted in a deep respect for mate­ri­al­ity and the natural world. Whether through form, func­tion, or living systems, his work often invites inter­ac­tion with nature — reflect­ing a desire to blur the bound­ary between the built envi­ron­ment and organic life. He brings expe­ri­ence in shop fabri­ca­tion, CAD model­ing, and studio lead­er­ship to his thought­ful, hands-on approach to design.

Cole Dowdell is a Wood­work­ing & Furni­ture Design major in their junior year at the Maine College of Art & Design. You will see a stark contrast in their port­fo­lio, between tech­ni­cal and eccen­tric furni­ture — they are drawn to refined, func­tional pieces with a humor­ous edge, and wish for their work to bring joy to the viewer.

Aria Kings­ley, Born 2003, is a Furni­ture Maker/​Glass Artist from Canton, CT. Currently resid­ing in Rochester, NY, they are pursu­ing a BFA in Furni­ture Design and a Minor in Glass at Rochester Insti­tute of Technology.

Talia Drury grew up in the midwest and received her Bach­e­lor’s in Indus­trial Design from Iowa State Univer­sity and has just finished her MFA in Furni­ture Design from The School of Amer­i­can Crafts at Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­ogy. She has focused her inter­ests in art and mark-making around her memo­ries outside as a child and her contin­u­ing curios­ity to learn about what exists outside as she wanders differ­ent wooded paths. She currently resides in Rochester, New York where she is the resi­dent artist at RIT where she contin­ues to make work inspired by seeds and other small objects that she finds on her walks.

Kate David­son is a wood­worker, craftsper­son, and educa­tor whose work ranges from func­tional furni­ture to sculp­tural play. She initially discov­ered wood­work­ing after finding a job as a carpen­ter on the coast of Maine, even­tu­ally enrolling in the Vermont Wood­work­ing School’s immer­sion program in 2017 and grad­u­at­ing from UW Madison with an MFA in Wood­work­ing and Furni­ture in 2024. Using wood, textiles, paper, and drawing, her work is a study in archi­tec­ture and the ways light and water change our built envi­ron­ment, from fleet­ing and unex­pected effects to long-term material shifts.

Mike Newins (he/​they) is an Amer­i­can designer based in North Carolina. Newins is a self taught craftsper­son and inter­dis­ci­pli­nary designer working primar­ily with wood and stone. Their work has been in Dwell, Design Milk, Inte­rior Design and Aspire. Mike’s prac­tice is char­ac­ter­ized by metic­u­lous atten­tion to detail, a broad visual vocab­u­lary and endless playfulness.

Darcy Resch is an accom­plished acad­e­mic, artist, designer, and wood­worker, dedi­cated to blend­ing creativ­ity with prac­ti­cal crafts­man­ship. Her furni­ture design reflects a harmo­nious fusion of artis­tic vision and tech­ni­cal skill, creat­ing pieces that are both beau­ti­ful and functional.

She is a grad­u­ate of North­ern Michi­gan Univer­sity in 2024, where she earned a Bach­e­lor of Science with majors in Art and Design, concen­trat­ing in Wood­work­ing and Furni­ture Design, along with a second major in Applied Work­place Lead­er­ship, and a minor in Art History. Start­ing in March 2025, Darcy will be pursu­ing a Masters of Archi­tec­ture through the Melbourne School of Design at the Univer­sity of Melbourne in Victo­ria, Australia.

Corey grad­u­ated from the Univer­sity of Michi­gan with a degree in Plant and Soil Ecology, rooting their prac­tice in a deep connec­tion to the land, and has spent the last 7 years teach­ing, learn­ing, playing with wood, growing food, and growing commu­nity in Detroit. They joined the​Wood­work­ing and Furni­ture Design Master of Fine Arts program at the Univer­sity of Wiscon­sin, Madison, in the Fall of 2024.

This year, The Furni­ture Society is start­ing 2025 off strong by featur­ing our new Nuts and Bolts Coor­di­na­tor, Ghermayn Baker!

Gher­mayn Baker is a woven furni­ture restora­tion special­ist and basketweaver based in Long Beach, Cali­for­nia. Together with his wife Christina, Gher­mayn founded Point by Point Studio, a studio focus­ing on the restora­tion of cane, rattan, wicker, and other woven furni­ture, in 2022.

Lauren Newby is an artist, furni­ture maker and wood­work­ing instruc­tor based in the Upper Great Lakes, and a 2020 grad­u­ate of UW-Madison’s BFA program in Wood Furni­ture Design. Immersed in the craft commu­nity at North House Folk School, Lauren was a 2021 Craft Educa­tion Intern and currently teaches furni­ture design, chair­mak­ing and kid’s woodworking courses.

Phillip Keefe is tradi­tional hand-tool wood­worker currently based in Chicago, IL. He was intro­duced to wood­work­ing at a very young age by his father, a hobby­ist who built Queen Anne-style furni­ture in an old country work­shop. He consid­ers himself a contem­po­rary furni­ture designer and constantly chal­lenges the way we regis­ter furni­ture in our day-to-day lives: not just as objects of utility, but as a means of creative expression.

Lee Nadeau is an emerg­ing wood­worker, furni­ture maker and artist, currently living in Port­land, Maine. Born and raised in central Maine, much of Nadeau’s work is rooted in her ties to her home state. Nadeau takes refer­ences from the nature found around her home­town and trans­lates them into graphic visual elements, such as pattern and color. She will earn a BFA in Wood­work­ing & Furni­ture Design from Maine College of Art & Design in May 2025.

Mia Freer is an indus­trial designer and craftsper­son. Her recent projects include 3D printed, renter-friendly wall lights and sustain­able home goods and a 18-hole mid-century modern mini golf course.

She grad­u­ated from Cleve­land Insti­tute of Art in 2022, with a senior thesis that focused on reduc­ing the effects of Furni­ture Poverty and its impact on the Cleve­land commu­nity through the design of flat-pack furni­ture utiliz­ing sustain­able CNC machin­ing processes and a one-for-one busi­ness model that would connect people living in furni­ture poverty with furni­ture in Cleveland.

For the fourth year in a row, the Vermont Wood­work­ing School recog­nizes the impor­tance of belong­ing to an orga­ni­za­tion that supports the field and commu­nity in which they have chosen to study.

We are thrilled to feature and high­light these 4th-semes­ter students this week.

For the fourth year in a row, the Vermont Wood­work­ing School recog­nizes the impor­tance of belong­ing to an orga­ni­za­tion that supports the field and commu­nity in which they have chosen to study.

We are thrilled to feature and high­light these 3rd-semes­ter students this week.

For the fourth year in a row, the Vermont Wood­work­ing School recog­nizes the impor­tance of belong­ing to an orga­ni­za­tion that supports the field and commu­nity in which they have chosen to study.

We are thrilled to feature and high­light these 2nd-semes­ter students this week.

Gideon Holdgate is a furni­ture maker and sculp­ture who attended MassArt in Boston, MA. He worked as a wood shop monitor and instruc­tor and both the Harvard Univer­sity Carpen­ter Center for Visual Arts and in the wood shop of MassArt. Gideon has since moved back home to Nantucket, MA, where he is devel­op­ing his own shop space to continue build­ing furni­ture and sculp­ture by commission.

Bridget Conway is an artist, wood­worker, and wood­work­ing teacher based in New York City. Bridget utilizes furni­ture, sculp­ture, and print as spec­u­la­tive fictions in hopes for a better under­stand­ing of the past, present, and future.

Lily Tilton is a grad­u­ate of North Bennet Street School’s Cabinet and Furni­ture Making program and comes from a line of self-taught wood­work­ers. She held a fellow­ship at the Center for Furni­ture Crafts­man­ship and is currently a teach­ing assis­tant at NBSS for the full-time Cabinet and Furni­ture Making program.

Paul Tanaka is a self-taught designer-maker working and living in Ames, Iowa. Paul’s work includes all kinds of domes­tic furni­ture — always with the beauty, warmth and touch of wood at its center. His work is influ­enced by modern archi­tects and furni­ture designer/​makers in East Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Martin Linder is the Founder of the Indus­trial Design Outreach, Inc. (IDO). Indus­trial Design Outreach, Inc. provides design educa­tion that cele­brates and fosters the diver­sity of thought and creativ­ity to high school students from margin­al­ized commu­ni­ties. Estab­lished in San Fran­cisco, CA in 2003 as a univer­sity insti­tute and estab­lished as a Cali­for­nia nonprofit in 2020, IDO has reach thou­sands of students. www​.indus​tri​alde​sig​noutreach​.org

Rochester, New York trans­plant Naomi Miller designs furni­ture and sculp­tural objects. She is a grad­u­ate of the in Furni­ture Design program at Rochester Insti­tute of Tech­nol­ogy. Having taken a non-tradi­­tional path to this point Naomi has spent most of her career as a Prop­er­ties Artisan build­ing furni­ture at theaters in Pitts­burgh, Pennsylvania.

Zachary is a Los Angeles-based artist and wood­worker born in 1980 and raised in Berke­ley, Cali­for­nia. Since 2011, he has been explor­ing the theme of wall-hung wood sculp­tures, orga­niz­ing them on a grid to allow for inter­ac­tive rearrange­ment and self-expres­­sion. Zachary’s goal is to create a tactile and collab­o­ra­tive expe­ri­ence for viewers, provid­ing an instru­ment that anyone can play and manip­u­late to reveal a part of themselves.

Anders is an artist living in North­field, MN, and working at the inter­sec­tion of craft, narra­tive, and design. He loves sculpt­ing in various mate­ri­als, making furni­ture, drawing, writing, and film­mak­ing. Anders sculp­ture and furni­ture pieces engage with and ques­tion the idea of what it means for an object to be functional.

Wells Mason is an Amer­i­can designer and sculp­tor. He founded Iron­wood Indus­tries in 1995. He has exhib­ited his work in galleries and museums around the country, and he’s been featured in count­less regional, national, and international publications.

Brianna Muchai is a 4th year born in Mankato, Minnesota in 2002. She is study­ing Art at the Univer­sity of Iowa and is pursu­ing a BFA in 3D design. Brianna is fond of organic geomet­ric forms and uses them often in her work.

Bruce Brad­ford is a designer and crafts­man who enjoys craft­ing unique works with an artis­tic and func­tional signif­i­cance. His designs are inspired by the simplic­ity of mid-century Danish modern furni­ture, but also include sculp­tural elements making them​“func­tional works of art”.

Alison McLen­nan is the owner of AJM furni­ture based in Alameda, CA. She grew up in Prov­i­dence, RI and attended Cornell Univer­sity, where she majored in Ento­mol­ogy. After college she moved to Oakland, CA and redis­cov­ered her life­long inter­est in art and her passion for making things.

Jordon Jones is a designer study­ing in Iowa City, IA. She is passion­ate about a variety of design includ­ing furni­ture, product, and jewelry. Drawing inspi­ra­tion from her expe­ri­ences both past and present, she gives each one of her pieces its own identity.

Richard Oedel has been making furni­ture since he was a teenager. His primary shop is in Wolfeboro, NH, where he recently moved full time. His work is sold and exhib­ited inter­na­tion­ally and is the past Chair­man of the New Hamp­shire Furniture Masters.

Justin R. Cock­rell (they/​them) is a craft artist, print­maker, and story­teller from Colum­bus, Ohio, currently living, learn­ing, and making in Rich­mond, Virginia. Their prac­tice is rooted in the objects and mate­ri­als related to the concept of​“home” and explores ways that queer­ness, grief, and race can shape domestic space. 

Adrien Segal is an artist based in Oakland, Cali­for­nia. Drawing from land­scape, science, history, emotion, and percep­tion, her inter­dis­ci­pli­nary work bridges the gap between scien­tific ratio­nal­ity and the emotional nature of human experience.

Peter Scheidt’s (he/​him/​his) work is concept-driven yet firmly grounded in the craft of furni­ture. He builds and teaches in Ames, Iowa where he is Assis­tant Profes­sor of Wood + Mate­r­ial Studies at Iowa State University.

Benjamin is a furni­ture maker based in south-central Penn­syl­va­nia and a member of the PA Guild of Crafts­men and Lancaster Designer Crafts­men. He builds furni­ture that is elegantly designed and finely constructed using wood that he has hand-selected for each piece.

Nucharin Wang­phong­sawasd (aka Nucharin with the long last name) is an Artist and Wood­worker based in Bangkok, Thai­land. She has a back­ground in Indus­trial Design. She pursued her grad­u­ate studies in Wood­work­ing & Furni­ture Design at the School for Amer­i­can Crafts at RIT. Her works are inspired by repet­i­tive patterns from nature and manmade objects, driven by an explo­ration of forms in the creation of each piece.