About G&I
Welcome to Grain & Iron, my woodworking business. I provide custom woodworking services, and specialize in furniture making. I take on projects that are outside other shops capabilities. Anyone can take a live edge slab, slap some legs on it and call it a table. I don’t settle for the simple projects, I take pride in my work and am always looking for a new challenge.
My name is Justin Bryson. I have been woodworking since I was a teenager, although I would say what I was doing back then was mostly making saw dust. I have enhanced my skills over years of training and study. I went through two years of furniture making school at Red Rocks Fine Woodworking program in Denver, CO where I gained a wide range of skills and knowledge, as well as mastered the use of hand tools. Woodworking is my passion, and I love being in the shop every day.
I handle everything including designing, constructing, and working with clients. I do a lot of my work the traditional way; with hand tools (hand saws, chisels, hand planes, etc.), but do use machines occasionally. Having both sets of tools and skills, I can provide a product that is both the highest quality and made efficiently (meaning cheaper for you).
Services
I strive for honest, high quality work that is flawless and clean. Furniture is my specialty (chairs, dressers, free standing cabinets, tables, etc), but I provide all forms of woodworking services, and no job is too custom.
CRAFTSMANSHIP
A properly constructed piece of furniture will last a lifetime. Our generation is used to disposable furniture, and most items we purchase eventually end up getting thrown out because they fall apart or deteriorate. Most furniture produced now a days is of such low quality. Manufacturers have adjusted everything to make their product as cheap as possible for the consumer, including cheaper materials, automating the construction, inferior joinery, expedited finish, and adjusting design to be more manufacture friendly. This is not how furniture making has always been, and is a relatively new development of what once was. All furniture used to be hand made by a team of specialists, using nothing but hand tools comprised of axes, mallets, hand saws, chisels and hand planes. I have built several pieces entirely in this manner, and I love to do it. It is quite meditative not having the wind of the machines in the background, it is just you engaging with the wood to slowly form this rough material from nature into something beautiful and functional, and all the while you can’t help but feel a small connection to our woodworking ancestors.
The work done in the shop is of the highest quality, I take the time to make sure my furniture is clean and seamless, even if it requires starting over and making sure things are perfect. There is no assembly line here, everything built is individually constructed with labor, time and passion. It is not uncommon that the pieces I work on take anywhere from 40 to over 300 hours. If you would like to see my operation for your self, feel free to arrange an appointment to come by the shop.
DESIGN
This is an art form, and wood is the medium. When I first started out woodworking, I would scan the internet for hours looking for the perfect piece to mimic, and I was never satisfied. I soon realized that if I wanted a piece that was stylish and unique, I would need to take on the design portion of the job.
I incorporate design elements from everything in life that I find interesting, whether it is an animal leg, a bridge, an old factory, etc. I start with the rough form of the piece, with the goal to build something that stands out and draws you to focus in on. Most furniture pieces we see are so common, we don’t give them a second thought. We have all seen thousands of chairs, tables, etc. and our brain knows exactly what lines and forms to expect when identifying these objects. I try to tweak my forms to disrupt this identification process, while still maintaining the intended function of the piece.
I drive to build a piece that when someone sees for the first time, they are drawn to it. They take it all in, try to dissect it within their head, and as they approach, they feel compelled to run their fingers along it.
WOOD
Wood is a wonderful material, and is the primary ingredient used in my products. Wood is organic and comes directly from nature, it requires no processing to be used for construction, you can cut it and shape it to practically any 3 dimensional form, it can be manipulated with steam, you can bond it to itself, and it is very strong when used correctly. Wood has a natural beauty to it when prepared correctly, and I want to display that as much as possible. The color and grain of the wood give additional visual interest that can enhance the overall look of the piece. When wood is touched, it feels warm and textured. Other materials such as metal, plastic and fiberglass do not provide the same experience.
The wood I use is responsibly sourced. I take the time to find the right cuts of wood, and coordinate the grain on each component to flow with the whole piece. I typically use hardwoods, but I can build with any kind of wood that you are interested in. Common hardwoods used in furniture are oak, maple, ash, cherry, walnut, and mahogany.
