The Beauty of the Unrepeatable

Long before we spoke about shifting toward one-of-a-kind work, Tom was already building it.

Not as a strategy.

Not as a marketing direction.

Simply because certain projects refused to be ordinary.

Over the years, between the steady rhythm of production furniture, there were always commissions that stepped outside the line — pieces shaped by a particular home, a particular person, or sometimes just a particular board that carried too much character to ignore.

They never announced themselves as important at the time.

But looking back, they were the ones that taught us the most.

Some began with unusual materials — a slab with movement that determined the proportions before a sketch ever existed. Others began with function: a space in a home that needed furniture to solve a problem no standard design could address. And occasionally, like the stained-glass console, the piece began with art that the furniture had to respectfully frame rather than compete with.

In those moments, Tom stopped designing from plans and started designing from listening.

Joinery changed.
Scale changed.
Even the pace of the shop changed.

Because once a piece becomes specific, efficiency loses its authority. The goal shifts from repeating what works to discovering what fits.

These projects rarely looked alike. A cabinet that balanced storage and display for a narrow hallway had nothing in common with a table built around a dramatic board, or a case designed to carry light through glass panels. Yet they all shared something unmistakable — they could not be built twice without becoming something else.

They were furniture tied to circumstance.

And over time we realized: those were the pieces clients remembered most. Not because they were louder, but because they felt personal. They carried intention in a way repetition never quite can.

For many years, our collection work allowed us to refine skill and discipline. But the one-of-a-kind pieces quietly shaped our philosophy. They taught patience. They demanded attention. They required conversation rather than selection.

Now, heading toward 2027, we are choosing to make space for what has always been present — work that begins with a story instead of a model number.

Tom hasn’t started building one-of-a-kind furniture.

He’s been building it all along.

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