About
My shop is temporarily closed while I relocate. Expected reopening early fall 2020.
I typically get asked two questions: 1) 'How'd you get into this?', and 2) 'Why do you do this?'
I honestly stumbled into it. Growing up my middle school still had shop class and my high school classes still allowed us to do physical experiments in the natural sciences. I remember building bridges out of matchsticks, mason jar gumball machines, rubber band cars, pumpkin catapults, rockets out of three liter coke bottles, and many other projects. Almost all of my family has taught me something about crafting, mechanics, sewing, painting, carpentry, physics, welding, etc. My college experience at Baylor University amplified my carpentry, welding, and other artistic skills by leading the building of an annual Homecoming float for three consecutive years. In college I built our coffee tables and entertainment centers, mostly out of necessity, but also because I found that I enjoyed it. Plus it was significantly better than the disposable furniture from mass production, widely distributed, "cookie cutter" stores. Lastly, I haven't owned a television since 2009, which has played a major role in the amount of productive free time on my hands.
Those big box, mass production stores bring me to the answer of the second question: 'Why do you do this?' The simple answer is legacy pieces. Almost every piece of furniture in my small apartment has some type of back story. A 1930's oak desk salvaged from a garage with a good friend from high school. A blue and white oil painting of a small farm house surrounded by pasture land painted by my grandfather. An antique shaving stand mirror my mother found at an estate sale in west Texas. These are legacy pieces which took master level hours of craftsmanship to create. The desk and shave stand are held together with old world technology like hand cut dovetails, tenon and mortise joints, etc. versus modern day adhesives and saw dust. I watched my grandfather paint the oil over twelve months. I see the attention to detail, the amount of time invested, and aim to perfection in each of these legacy pieces and hopefully someone in future generations will see it too. Every piece I make may not be a true "legacy piece" but my hope is it will outlast anything that can be purchased in a retail store.
Recently I was told by a friend about a YouTube series sponsored by Balvenie Whiskey (drink of choice while working, by the way) called Raw Craft with Anthony Bourdain. The opening dialogue Bourdain says, "The term 'handcrafted' gets thrown around a lot these days. It's become a movement. A trend. That can obscure the passionate folks how can actually make amazing things by hand. Their remarkable stories need to be told. And I'm going to find them." The mastery level of the craftsmanship by Frank Shattuck, Steve Goodson, Bob Kramer, etc. are awe-inspiring. This type of craftsmanship and mastery is the level I aspire, but have years and years of studying before achieving.
Some of my first projects started after finding broken pieces of furniture in my apartment dumpster. After some new wood here and there, a fresh coat of paint or stain, and some TLC, these pieces looked brand new. I ran out of storage in my tiny apartment so I started giving it away to family and friends. It progressed to where we are now. My carpentry goals are to give new life to neglected, broken, and/or forgotten pieces. Ultimately, I would like to work with local contractors to reduce the amount of wasted construction material at job sites. My leather working goals are to be able to handstitch as well as Josh Olschewski and carve like Paul Zalesak and other legends of the leather world.
Some products are true one off productions and will not be replicated per agreements with previous customers.
I'm lucky to have a talented wife who does all of my photographs - part of her own hobby.
All products are made to order. Custom orders welcome. Everything is spread by word of mouth so please tag us with #HawleyHandmade. Thanks for stopping by and taking a minute to look around. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
I typically get asked two questions: 1) 'How'd you get into this?', and 2) 'Why do you do this?'
I honestly stumbled into it. Growing up my middle school still had shop class and my high school classes still allowed us to do physical experiments in the natural sciences. I remember building bridges out of matchsticks, mason jar gumball machines, rubber band cars, pumpkin catapults, rockets out of three liter coke bottles, and many other projects. Almost all of my family has taught me something about crafting, mechanics, sewing, painting, carpentry, physics, welding, etc. My college experience at Baylor University amplified my carpentry, welding, and other artistic skills by leading the building of an annual Homecoming float for three consecutive years. In college I built our coffee tables and entertainment centers, mostly out of necessity, but also because I found that I enjoyed it. Plus it was significantly better than the disposable furniture from mass production, widely distributed, "cookie cutter" stores. Lastly, I haven't owned a television since 2009, which has played a major role in the amount of productive free time on my hands.
Those big box, mass production stores bring me to the answer of the second question: 'Why do you do this?' The simple answer is legacy pieces. Almost every piece of furniture in my small apartment has some type of back story. A 1930's oak desk salvaged from a garage with a good friend from high school. A blue and white oil painting of a small farm house surrounded by pasture land painted by my grandfather. An antique shaving stand mirror my mother found at an estate sale in west Texas. These are legacy pieces which took master level hours of craftsmanship to create. The desk and shave stand are held together with old world technology like hand cut dovetails, tenon and mortise joints, etc. versus modern day adhesives and saw dust. I watched my grandfather paint the oil over twelve months. I see the attention to detail, the amount of time invested, and aim to perfection in each of these legacy pieces and hopefully someone in future generations will see it too. Every piece I make may not be a true "legacy piece" but my hope is it will outlast anything that can be purchased in a retail store.
Recently I was told by a friend about a YouTube series sponsored by Balvenie Whiskey (drink of choice while working, by the way) called Raw Craft with Anthony Bourdain. The opening dialogue Bourdain says, "The term 'handcrafted' gets thrown around a lot these days. It's become a movement. A trend. That can obscure the passionate folks how can actually make amazing things by hand. Their remarkable stories need to be told. And I'm going to find them." The mastery level of the craftsmanship by Frank Shattuck, Steve Goodson, Bob Kramer, etc. are awe-inspiring. This type of craftsmanship and mastery is the level I aspire, but have years and years of studying before achieving.
Some of my first projects started after finding broken pieces of furniture in my apartment dumpster. After some new wood here and there, a fresh coat of paint or stain, and some TLC, these pieces looked brand new. I ran out of storage in my tiny apartment so I started giving it away to family and friends. It progressed to where we are now. My carpentry goals are to give new life to neglected, broken, and/or forgotten pieces. Ultimately, I would like to work with local contractors to reduce the amount of wasted construction material at job sites. My leather working goals are to be able to handstitch as well as Josh Olschewski and carve like Paul Zalesak and other legends of the leather world.
Some products are true one off productions and will not be replicated per agreements with previous customers.
I'm lucky to have a talented wife who does all of my photographs - part of her own hobby.
All products are made to order. Custom orders welcome. Everything is spread by word of mouth so please tag us with #HawleyHandmade. Thanks for stopping by and taking a minute to look around. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Check us out on Voyage's website!
http://voyagedallas.com/interview/meet-jonathan-hawley-hawley-handmade-leather-lumber-lakewood/
http://voyagedallas.com/interview/meet-jonathan-hawley-hawley-handmade-leather-lumber-lakewood/