Explore
Beyond the workshop
The work in the world, and the world that shaped it. Studio tours, clients, the apprentices, the art, the early years — and the makers, records, and books worth your time. Go look around.
01
IN THE WILD
Monkwood in the Wild
Desks, tables, and cabinets in their habitats — real rooms, real gear, real wear. This is the work doing what it was built to do, photographed where it lives.
02
STUDIO TOURS
The rooms these desks were built for
A desk only really exists once someone sits down at it. Video walkthroughs of client studios — Tori Kelly, Tony Anderson, Sid Khosla, Sanjay C, Mick Schultz and others — gear loaded in, sessions running, the work happening.
03
THE WORK, IN THE WORLD
What gets made on these desks
The best argument for a Monkwood desk isn't the desk — it's the records, scores, and films that come off it. Go listen to what these people make. That's the whole reason the work exists.
04
THE ACADEMY
Thirty apprentices, and counting
The quiet strength of this studio has never been the machines. It's the people who've stood at the bench beside me. More than thirty apprentices have come through Monkwood over the years — some now building furniture under their own names, like Esteban at Marsbuilt Studio and Joel at Elwood Design Co. Others took what they learned about material and patience into entirely different disciplines. We've had pastors here on sabbatical, and a calligrapher named Angie.
Craft is meant to be handed on. That's the whole point of learning it.
05
CONVERSATIONS
The long-form version
Videos and podcasts — sit-downs about the craft, the philosophy, and how a fine art degree turns into a life at the bench. If you want the reasoning behind the work rather than the finish on it, start here.
06
THE ART
The same hands, no constraints
Paintings and sculpture made from the offcuts, reclaimed wood, and pigment of the furniture process — craft given complete freedom. Shown at Progress Gallery, Think Tank, Brea Gallery, and GHong Art Gallery.
07
THE BEGINNING
Where it started
Early pieces, early paintings, hand-painted signage — the trove from the years before anyone was watching. Some of it is rough. All of it is pointed in the same direction. Look closely and you'll find the vision was fully formed long before the skill caught up to it.
Still exploring. That part hasn't changed.
08
FAMILY
What runs in the blood
Craft runs in this house, and not only through me. My son's DJ project, Hilldrop Sound. My other son's clothing line, Manna. My sister's mural work. My brother's toy design. Different disciplines, same instinct — make the thing, make it well, make it yours.
Nothing to sell you here. Just a proud father and brother with a website.
09
PRESS
What others have written
Features and profiles — the OC Register, Voyage LA, and others. We don't chase coverage, but when someone takes the time to look closely at the work, it's worth keeping.
10
INFLUENCES
What shaped the work
No one arrives at a style alone. The artists who set the standard I keep reaching for — and a line on each about what exactly it is I took from them.
11
THE TRADE
Makers worth your money
Fellow woodworkers and artists I admire. If what you need isn't what I build, let me point you to someone who does it beautifully — some friends, some strangers whose joinery I admire from a distance.
Go see them. I'll be here.
12
THE SHOP
What's playing while we work
Hours at the bench need a soundtrack. Spotify and YouTube playlists I've curated — they shape more of the work than you'd think.
13
RECOMMENDATIONS
Worth your evening
Books and films that have moved something in me — about making, about seeing, about paying attention. Not a reading list. A short shelf of the ones that stuck.
14
THE WILDCARD
Rabbit holes worth falling into
The odd corners of the internet I keep going back to. No theme, no agenda. Just good work by people who cared enough to make it.
Go look around. Take your time. When you're ready to talk about a piece, I'll be at the bench.
Start a conversation