Really Good Furniture Company | Feature Friday
Confession: Jake makes friends a whole lot easier than most people. I almost constantly hear stories about one of Jake’s buddies that does “this thing or that”. Jake has this odd knack for learning about people’s hobbies, and he comes home to tell me about them. I’ll be honest, he does this so often that my eyes kinda glaze over and I tend to just nod and smile. However, when I heard about his buddy that runs Really Good Furniture Company, I was all ears for once.
You see, I’d fallen head over heels with Joanna Gaines’ huge cutting board from her cooking show. I spent hours searching for it to no avail, since it was a custom piece. Knowing that I could POSSIBLY get what I wanted, (aka, a giant one of a kind cutting board) sparked my interest.
Really Good Furniture Company Handcrafted Gifts
It just so happened that I was in the middle of planning the Winter Wedding shoot for Altimeter Cabin and the gal assisting with coordination asked if I had any trays. I immediately thought of Really Good Furniture Company and the pieces that Jake had shown me previously. I knew I needed one of his boards for this shoot. When Jake arrived with a box full of beautiful pieces, I was thrilled to find out I could spend some quality time with them after the shoot.
This is the part of these posts where I’d gush over the quality and craftsmanship… Instead, I’m just going to tell you one thing. I bought one of the boards I was able to photograph. It’s complete perfection and now hangs out in my kitchen waiting for the moment I can pull it out and use it. The quality and craftsmanship is beyond AMAZING, and I’m so excited to introduce you to Brad and the Really Good Furniture Company below.
Please tell me more about Really Good Furniture Company. How did you get started? How long have you been in business?
My wife and I started Really Good Furniture Company about a year ago in hopes of bringing in some extra income for our fertility journey. I have always enjoyed building and creating custom art, furniture, and household items for family and friends. Although this venture started out as a way to help us financially to expand our family, it has benefited us in so many additional ways. I am in my early 30’s and have lived a life full of great adventures and opportunity but this company gave me something that I didn’t even know I was missing; and in itself has become a part of our family.
When did you realize you loved working with different wood?
I have over 15 years of experience in the manufacturing industry and have always enjoyed working with my hands. As teenagers my now wife would spend most of her time watching me take apart and rebuild cars to spend time with me. As she so lovingly likes to remind me, it didn’t matter if it was a perfectly nice day or negative 20 degrees with wind-chill in the middle of a Chicago winter, she would be there, piled under at least a dozen blankets watching me work- she still holds a grudge about this. Even though my love of building started with cars, as I grew older I started testing my skills with different materials and projects and quickly realized my love for woodworking. Before we got married I decided that I wanted to make our wedding bands with a custom wood ring box. This was one of the first projects that truly peaked my interest in wood working. Making the custom box to go along with our wedding bands was a decision that snowballed into a love for discovering different types of woods and coming up with custom creations. We always make a point to create items that we not only love but feel that we couldn’t find anywhere else. Discovering beautiful woods to make hand made items that my wife and I both enjoy and appreciate has been one of our favorite discoveries of starting this company. On our weekends we enjoy taking day trips to different lumber mills to find new and beautiful materials to work with.
What has been your favorite project to date?
My wife and I bought a bigger house last Fall. We have greatly enjoyed taking the time to decorate but my wife has very particular taste and was struggling to find cost effective pieces for our new home. So this last Christmas I was sure to make her some custom art and furniture for around the house. My favorite piece that I built her was a padauc wood and copper art piece that she has hanging in our dining room. From coming up with the design to the end result of the piece, it was one of my favorite things to create through every step of the process.
If you had unlimited resources, what would you build over and over again?
If I had every recourse at my disposal I would love to produce large amounts of live edge and exotic wood charcuterie boards. Working with woods like koa, purple heart, and walnut to create one of a kind pieces is intriguing to me. I love being able to perfect my process of one creation while also being able to make each board different in wood type, color, shape, and overall design.
How does the ordering process work? (Timeframe, how far in advance to book, etc)
We take orders through our website and I can also be contacted directly through email or phone. Ordering varies depending on the scope of the project and whether or not a custom piece is being requested. If it is a custom piece we average about 2 to 6 weeks for production, but we also have in stock items listed on our website.
When it comes to custom creations, do you supply everything or can customers bring you wood pieces to work with?
Working with clients to create meaningful pieces with material that they already have in possession is something that we always try to accommodate.
You make your own food safe sealant. Do you sell it for those who want/need to reseal their boards?
Yes, we have an organic & food safe wax that is handmade with bees wax and natural mineral oil. This is the same wax that is used on all of our wood pieces prior to completion. We sell the wax in 4 ounce jars on our website.
I’ve seen on Instagram that your wife participates in designing some pieces. Does she have a favorite?
Absolutely, my wife loves the custom bath caddy that I built her for Christmas. She is always reminding me that she is part mermaid and is more comfortable in water than anywhere else. The bath caddy is sized to our deep soaker tub and has a slot for her wine glass, book stand, and space for snacks- how can that be beat?
Anything else your potential clients should know?
We are a family run business that puts love into creating original pieces. This company has brought our family together in many ways and we look forward to future projects to come. Our goal is to share our creations and love for art with the community while working side by side with other small business. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Any advice for newly engaged couples?
When arguments occur always remember that you are arguing with someone that you love and respect and words cannot be unsaid. I also find it helpful to surprise her by bringing her home food and a variety of snacks on occasion.
Find more of Brad, his wife, their adorable dog and Really Good Furniture Company on social media and their website!
