I grew up in North Carolina and was raised with a hammer in my hand, always curious about how things were made and fit together. After graduating from UNC-Asheville with a degree in Environmental Studies, I moved to New York City and started working for Future Green Studio, a landscape architecture firm building rooftop terraces, garden spaces and art installations for clients including Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Amant Foundation. After four years at the company and growing into the position of project manager, I knew it was time for a change. I wanted to be more engaged in the design and construction of the projects I built, down to the very last detail.

I fell in love with traditional joinery because of the functional beauty it imparts and the skill and patience it requires to get two pieces of wood to fit seamlessly together. Colwell Studios was created to highlight the ingenuity of old carpentry techniques on custom furniture to bring warmth and permanence to our daily lives. Colwell is my middle name, in honor of my grandmother, a talented painter and pastel artist who instilled in me the value of taking time to create something beautiful.

Ready-made designs are available or I can make a custom work tailored to your specifications. Contact me and we’ll build something beautiful together.

-Simon