Luke Bartels, 36, Jeff Canham, 35, Josh Duthie, 32, and Danny Hess, 35
Founding designers, Woodshop
The sign painted on the Outer Sunset storefront might say Woodshop, but the name belies the creative energy at the artisan workspace. Inside, you’ll find four scruffy guys reinterpreting the art of their craft (that is, unless they’re surfing Ocean Beach). Luke Bartels, a custom furniture designer, specializes in live-edge slabs of native wood. Danny Hess is a surfboard shaper renowned for his innovative hollow wooden boards (see California Home+Design's September cover story on Hess). Jeff Canham is a painter and graphic designer whose retro signs can be seen nearby at Mollusk Surf Shop, and Chairtastic’s Josh Duthie redrafts vintage chairs.
“This is about having a community,” says Bartels, but the crew shares more than studio space and moral support. For example, Bartels first fashions a slab of claro walnut into a coffee table, then Hess snags the the wood offcuts for a surfboard fin. “It’s more of a cross-pollination,” says Bartels. “We’re working with old methods in new ways,” says Canham.
The proof was in September’s SF20 show—a collection of the finest midcentury furniture from around the world. The crew was selected for an exhibit called “21Pop,” curated by Stanlee Gatti, who chose artisans he believes are creating future collectibles. Buy now and remember: You heard it here first.
