About Louis Fry / Craftsman In Wood

I have been designing and building handmade furniture for the past 30 years and today this continues to be my passion as well as my profession. I live and work on a ruggedly beautiful piece of land located in the Texas hill country 25 miles west of Austin.

I think for me it is the aesthetic possibilities of furniture that I find most compelling. While functionality and ergonomics are essentially important in creating furniture for the real world, my hope and desire is that the pieces I make can also stand alone as objects of beauty.

Wood, of course, is a beautiful material in and of itself, and I often have a sense of anticipation when going through a new bundle of lumber or stack of book matched slabs to see what I can find for the next project. Sometimes there are nice surprises.

Most of the pieces I create are one-of-a-kind which means I haven’t made them before, so it is important for me to get things right in the design stage. I work out form, proportion, and detailing in advance by laboring over drawings and templates before I ever begin to build. Then, while I am in the process of construction, I continue to make refinements along the way. Again, there are often interesting surprises as things take shape.

There is also beauty to be found in craftsmanship; joints that fit well, surfaces that are polished, small details cleanly executed. Paying attention and working with skill is always reflected in the work.

Bringing these three elements together, materials, design, and craftsmanship into a balanced whole and seeing a thing of beauty emerge is always the goal for me. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet.