CMStudio 5326
FOLIO 003 · THE PROCESS

From idea to heirloom.

Five steps. Months of work. One piece at a time.

Plate I · The shop floor Built by hand. One piece at a time.
The framework

Five steps. Here's what each one means.

I II III IV V CONVERSATION PROPOSAL & DEPOSIT DESIGN BUILD DELIVERY
STEP I · CONVERSATION
I.

The conversation.

Thirty minutes, no obligation.

You bring the piece, the room, the budget, the timeline. I bring questions about fit and an honest opinion about whether what you want is what you actually need. About half of these calls end with me telling someone they'd be better off with something off the shelf.

If we're a fit, we keep going. If we're not, I'll say so — and you'll thank me later.

30 min · no pitch
STEP II · PROPOSAL
II.

Proposal & deposit.

A written agreement, then we begin.

After the call, I send a written proposal — scope, materials, ballpark price, timeline. Nothing's locked in until you accept it. Once you do, a deposit reserves your build slot and lets me start sourcing the wood.

Design work doesn't begin on spec. The deposit means we're building together.

Within one week
STEP III · DESIGN
III.

The design.

Sketches first. Cuts later.

We start with sketches. A digital model when the piece earns one. Material samples in hand or in your inbox. Back and forth until both of us are confident in the design.

No saw touches wood until you've seen the final design and said yes. Period.

2–4 weeks of iteration
STEP IV · BUILD
IV.

The build.

Six to fourteen weeks of work.

Joints cut by hand. Modern tools where they earn their place. The build timeline depends on the piece — a humidor is weeks, a dresser is months. Photos and short films along the way so you can see what's happening.

I check in. I don't disappear.

6–14 weeks
STEP V · DELIVERY
V.

The delivery.

Signed. Stamped. Dated.

Local, I deliver and install myself. Freight when it's farther — insured and crated. The piece arrives with my maker's mark on the underside: signature, year, the wood it's built from.

Built to last generations. That's the whole point.

Personal delivery within 3 hours of Austin
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Folio 003 · Coda

Ready to start the conversation?

Tell me about the piece, the room, and the people who'll use it. Thirty minutes. No pitch.