Check Out Meredith Hart’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Hart.

Hi Meredith, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Kansas City, where my early inclination toward design began with outfitting large cardboard boxes with carpet, windows, and shelves- anything you’d find in a house but kid-sized. Following that interest, I went to college in Minnesota to study architecture, where I honed my design skills and analyzed everything from ancient to modern design theories. 

After college, I knew I wanted to find a career where I could use my creativity and education, but I also felt a pull to work with my hands. I spent some time farming in Virginia and later took craft classes in Vermont, exploring woodworking and carpentry, eventually landing on furniture making. I enrolled in North Bennet Street School in Boston, which has several full-time craft programs, including a two-year furniture program. During those magical years, I spent countless hours in the shop learning how to safely use a wide variety of shop machines and hand tools to create chairs, tables, case pieces, and just about every other free-standing piece of furniture. 

In 2014, I moved to North Carolina with my partner, also a furniture maker, and we eventually set up shop in Durham. Since then, I’ve taken on numerous commissions with clients locally and across the country. Each project is unique, pushing me to continually improve my hand skills and further develop my design aesthetic. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Generally, business has been steady, but of course, there are always challenges. Starting out was tough because I had a very limited portfolio and was new and unknown in the area. To supplement income, I worked part-time for other cabinet and furniture makers while building pieces for my own clients. 

Now that I’m about 10 years in, the constant challenge is charging what the work is worth. Custom furniture will always cost more than what you find in stores because each piece is different, and every aspect of the design and building process is carefully considered. It’s also easy to forget about all the other tasks that business owners face on a constant basis like filing sales taxes, creating invoices, and arranging shipping. Furniture making requires a shop full of machines and tools, and those will always find a new way to break, requiring time and money toward maintenance. 

Ultimately, woodworking is a labor of love, and I’m lucky to have found something that brings me joy and satisfaction on a near-daily basis. Of course, a critical board can sadly be cut an inch too short, but mistakes are part of reality, and in the end, it’s just wood. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Woodworking is an exciting mix of art and craft and both aspects require attention and perseverance. I can, at times, go overboard trying to get a detail just right, like getting a drawer to glide with ease on its wooden runners or turning a table leg on the lathe to be just like the other three. While perhaps not immediately obvious to the user, that level of craftsmanship elevates the experience of the piece. 

At the same time, I’m constantly thinking about the artistic side of my pieces. Arranging various design elements and proportions is much like composing any type of art; thoughtfulness and methodical development are necessary, sometimes agonizing, but ultimately rewarding steps toward a beautiful result. While my designs certainly have historical influences, I combine that with my own contemporary ideas to create work that has classical aspects with a modern feel. 

Because much of my work is custom, my client’s ideas are the foundation for a new piece, and that collaboration leads to designs we can both be proud of. 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The most important quality to my success is persistence. There are some tasks or decisions that, at the moment, feel impossible, and there’s always the temptation of an easier route, like making the design simpler or being satisfied with a mediocre finish. But to build a piece that I can be proud of, I have to push through those dilemmas to further my skills and create something great. I aim to build furniture that can be passed down through generations, so to do that, I have to work toward sturdiness and timeless design. It’s a difficult task but something worth striving for. 

Lastly, I have the world’s best shop dog, who helps bring that little something extra to everything I create. 

Contact Info:

• Website: meredithhartfurniture.com
• Instagram: @meredithhartfurniture

Image Credits
Megapixie