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"Our human environment is as complex and mirrors our natural environment. Taking care of one takes care of the other. Ignoring one ignores the other. " Greg Aanes
We build furnitureGreg Aanes Furniture is one of the few remaining artisan furniture manufacturers that produces the work of a contemporary designer. Founded in 1980 by designer and woodworker Greg Aanes, we are located in Bellingham, Washington. Building on a tradition that began with the Arts and Crafts movement, our woodworkers combine a reverence for handwork with the progressive use of modern thinking, tools, and technology.
We build each piece to order, so you can choose from a huge variety of standard styles and sizes for every room of your home and office, and from seven rich hardwoods including Cherry, Oak, Mahogany, Walnut, Beech, Rock Maple, Figured Western Maple, Mango and Bubinga.
We build each piece to order, so you can choose from a huge variety of standard styles and sizes for every room of your home and office, and from seven rich hardwoods including Cherry, Oak, Mahogany, Walnut, Beech, Rock Maple, Figured Western Maple, Mango and Bubinga.
A Bit of History...
These pictures were captured in 1986 off my video camera using the long defunct "Snappy" device.
My wood beginnings were as a finish carpenter on high-end houses in Aspen, Colorado in the 70s, and later was fortunate enough to work with a Norwegian immigrant furniture maker. Even as a child growing up in Eastern Iowa I loved visiting Amish furniture shops, finding the endless variety of wood fascinating. Moving to the the Northwest in 1980 and working in local cabinet shops supported the opening of my first shop in 1981. I have always been largely self-taught through observation and experimentation, but once I focused on the goal of making furniture as a career began taking workshops with furniture makers such as James Krenov, Thomas Moser, and Isaburo Kawada. In 1997 that first tiny shop in the woods becamea 4,000 sq. ft shop of five woodworkers in downtown Bellingham, Washington. Too small after less than a year, it took until 2009 to move into an 8,000 sq ft shop in central Bellingham.
My wood beginnings were as a finish carpenter on high-end houses in Aspen, Colorado in the 70s, and later was fortunate enough to work with a Norwegian immigrant furniture maker. Even as a child growing up in Eastern Iowa I loved visiting Amish furniture shops, finding the endless variety of wood fascinating. Moving to the the Northwest in 1980 and working in local cabinet shops supported the opening of my first shop in 1981. I have always been largely self-taught through observation and experimentation, but once I focused on the goal of making furniture as a career began taking workshops with furniture makers such as James Krenov, Thomas Moser, and Isaburo Kawada. In 1997 that first tiny shop in the woods becamea 4,000 sq. ft shop of five woodworkers in downtown Bellingham, Washington. Too small after less than a year, it took until 2009 to move into an 8,000 sq ft shop in central Bellingham.
My wood beginnings were as a finish carpenter on high-end houses in Aspen, Colorado in the 70s, and later was fortunate enough to work with a Norwegian immigrant furniture maker. Even as a child growing up in Eastern Iowa I loved visiting Amish furniture shops, finding the endless variety of wood fascinating. Moving to the the Northwest in 1980 and working in local cabinet shops supported the opening of my first shop in 1981. I have always been largely self-taught through observation and experimentation, but once I focused on the goal of making furniture as a career began taking workshops with furniture makers such as James Krenov, Thomas Moser, and Isaburo Kawada. In 1997 that first tiny shop in the woods becamea 4,000 sq. ft shop of five woodworkers in downtown Bellingham, Washington. Too small after less than a year, it took until 2009 to move into an 8,000 sq ft shop in central Bellingham.
This is not a business whose business is making money (sure we need to do that!). This business developed out of my love for the craft and materials of furniture making with three decades of exciting development. Customers and employees are always first, the wood is second even though it complains much less, and somewhere in the end I work 12 hour days, driven by the richness of working with the people and wood. Marketing is a necessary evil to me and I still can't get past the call of the shop and shavings.
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