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Austin Wood Furniture & Chris Matthews Woodworking
Furniture Carving Turning About

About Us

Chris in the shop
In the shop

My name is Chris Matthews. The name of the company comes from my family history and my middle name, Austin. I have always like the name Austin and never had a chance to use it until I started this business.

I have been building furniture since 1993. I began building furniture for my own use as I was unhappy with the furniture that could be bought - it was either to expensive or the quality was poor. The only furniture I liked had been built years ago and I bought it used when I could find and afford it. The used pieces were in surprisingly good shape and with a little work on the finish it was like a new piece. On case pieces you can wax the drawer runners with a hard wax like beeswax or paraffin and they slide like new. I appreciated the quality that existed in earlier years and decided there was no reason it could not still be done. Little did I know then that there was a movement growing throughout America for better quality furniture.

I mostly work in the Arts and Crafts, or Mission, style and the Shaker style of furniture. Both employ simple lines, a quiet display of the joinery and allow the beauty of the wood to stand out. All of the pieces are hand made and finished by me in my shop.