Cherry And Quilted Maple Shoe Bench

Working with Jef through the design process was a real treat. He was very helpful and a true craftsman. The end result is a one of a kind gorgeous
piece of art that we'll enjoy for a lifetime.

Thanks Jeff and Custommade! Cheers, Mark

Jeff was a joy to work with. He took my ideas and made them tangible. Through out the project he provided status and pictures of progress. I look forward to working with him on future projects.

Working with Jeff was a fantastic experience from the initial planning stages, to the delivery of the finished piece. I wanted to have Jeff build me a shoe bench that drew from Japanese design with a bit of Greene and Greene, but still feel simple and contemporary. Jeff was very collaborative working out the design in Sketch Up, solving design problems and making suggestions for wood choices and detail ideas. Once we had the finished design Jeff was kind enough to let me go with him to pick out some of the wood. One of the reasons I enjoyed working with Jeff so much was his patience and willingness to share his process. Once we had our wood Jeff sent photos as the piece took shape and even had me come by to settle final details for the inset walnut pulls which help give the piece so much character. I couldn't be happier with the bench and I'd love to work with Jeff again, he's a true artist.

I am very glad that Jeff O'Brien agreed to make a bench for me that is very similar to the one he built and posted in photo/description on CustomMade. He used size dimensions best suited for the available space in my home and communicated with me often to discuss the final design. It is obvious Jeff was very choosy about the curly maple and cherry wood pieces he acquired for the bench. He also knew the best way to further enhance the beauty of the woods in the wood finishes/shellac he used. He combined the unique characteristics of the wood with highly artistic yet precise curves and angles along the wood edges. The three dimensions displayed in both the wood and design elements for each piece of wood create somewhat of an optical illusion. The bench complements the sea shoreline theme in this part of the house. The piece is very sturdy and rests perfectly on all four legs. Jeff took great care in crating the bench for shipment across the United States.

I brought Jeff a conceptual, imaginative design for a wooden mirror frame (and shelves to compliment it) that I figured would not be do-able in the world of woodworking and art. Jeff immediately took a keen interest in the design but acknowledged this would be a tough one. The design included the joining of different species of wood complicated with numerous curves, angles, thickness variations, smooth transitions, and also proud fragile areas that had to be hand-carved. The design evolved even through the last stages of the building process. We hashed out every detail and option together. Jeff's expertise always left me feeling confident about the decisions we came to. Through some experimentation with test pieces Jeff was able to figure out the sequence of events needed to make the construction of this frame a reality. The end result is absolutely amazing and attests to Jeff's extreme love for working with wood and his desire to create the most excellent furniture possible for his customer. It has been an extreme pleasure working with Jeff on this project.