FAQ's
Q. Do you have a showroom? Are the pieces on your website ready to ship?
A. No, I do not have a showroom - all of my pieces are made-to-order. All items you see here were made specially for a valued customer and are shipped as soon as they are complete.
Q. Can you customize the wood species or dimensions of your existing designs?
A. Because all my work is made-to-order, and as long as your preferred hardwood is available in my region I am happy to modify any of my existing designs to your exact specs.
Q. Which retailers stock your work?
A. All sales inquiries are handled directly through my website. Due to the nature of custom, made-to-order items, retail sales are pretty much out of the question!
Q. Can you provide me with progress pictures as you work on my custom order?
A. Yes, I do my best to keep a client updated with work-in-progress shots.
Q. Can you make this <insert pic of mass produced furniture>?
A. The short answer is probably no, but the longer answer is why? If you are hoping I am able to compete on price with a mass-produced, foreign-made, furniture brand - I hate to disappoint, but the economy of scale makes this impossible. I prefer that you send pictures of different pieces to communicate your aesthetic preferences and then I can create something unique for you.
Q. Can you explain the process of commissioning a custom piece?
A. If you have ever scribbled a sketch for THAT one-off coffee table burning a hole in the back of your mind then I am here to help. I am happy to meet up in my workshop/office, in your home, or via email, to discuss any potential custom design.
If you decide to proceed I will require a 50% deposit with the remainder payable upon delivery. Just keep in mind that a commissioned one-off piece obviously comes at a premium price point (refer to economy of scale comment above) Contact me for more information.
Q. How does the design process develop?
A. My initial design sketches will be worked up into a 3d computer model. I will render or sketch up the proposed design and create documents such as these. The 3d model is then fine-tuned in CAD to refine proportions, joints etc..... Then the serious fun (and the sawdust) starts to fly.
Q. How long will it take to produce?
A. Once I have discussed the complexity of your individual piece I will give you a ballpark figure for delivery. Usually this is 3-6 months, but this obviously varies from piece-to-piece and my current workload.
Q. 3 - 6 months? Holy smokes, is all your furniture made by hand or something?
A. All my work is crafted, assembled and finished by hand. 3 - 6 months is certainly not how long it takes to make a custom piece of furniture... it is the time-frame I am comfortable booking ahead!
Q. Where is your furniture produced?
A. All my work is designed and made in my Brandon, MB workshop. Located on my acreage just north of Brandon near Forrest, MB.
Q. What wood species would you suggest?
A. I use Canadian hardwoods available in my region. So I'm not the maker for you if you want a piece made from bits of the Brazilian rain-forest or from imported Swedish particle-board. I believe that celebrating the best of Canadian woods is not only an aesthetic decision, but is also the right thing to do. Old-growth, tropical rain-forest logging is an unnecessary destructive process - I don't really want THAT sawdust on my hands. To find out more about available wood species visit my Wood 101 page.
Q. Can you refinish this piece of furniture I already own?
A. Unfortunately not. Try getting in touch with a local furniture refinisher/repairer who specialize in that type of work. They are better suited and are experts in refinishing.
Q. Do you ship anywhere in Canada? Do you ship internationally?
A. Yes, I will ship to anywhere in the world (with full insurance).
Q. Does anyone read the whole way through FAQs?
A. There is a reasonable chance that you might be the first. Congratulations!