Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Waldo.
Hi Austin; I’m so excited to have you on the platform. Before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story, and how did you get to where you are today?
My furniture-making journey is long and complex but revolves around creating communities. Knowing where I came from is important to understand how I got to where I am now. I grew up in Kansas and graduated from Kansas State University in 2010. Although my passion had always been woodworking, my professional aspirations were leading me into digital marketing. Finding a good marketing job that I felt passionate about was difficult, so I moved to South Korea to be an English teacher. Although it wasn’t woodworking or marketing, I fell in love with education and the learning process. After four years, I moved back to the States, worked for education tech companies, and used my marketing degree. All the while, I was making things out of wood every chance I could. I moved to Austin, Texas, around 2014 with my now-wife and worked for several tech startups. While in Austin, I realized how hard it was to make friends with a similar passion for woodworking. The hobby can be isolating and is typically done by oneself. I decided to take woodworking classes at the Austin Community College to meet fellow woodworkers. This ended up being a great decision.
Through those ACC classes, I made many woodworking friends and eventually met Philip Morley, a prominent custom furniture maker. My classmates and I chatted about how common it is for tech companies to have networking events and happy hours, but you would only see something like that for woodworkers. So, in 2016, I started the Woodworking Social Club. This club meets twice monthly, typically at a brewery, and members show off projects and chat about woodworking. It would be fun for the Woodworking Social Club to have at least one yearly event bringing in woodworking companies and other clubs from around the area. This was when the Texas Woodworking Festival was born. This annual event has continued to grow each year, bringing thousands of woodworking workers to Austin from all over the US.
Through the Woodworking Social Club and the Texas Woodworking Festival, Austin’s woodworking community began to grow, as did the demand for woodworking education. In 2018, I started the Austin School of Furniture, a great team of advisors and furniture makers ready to teach. The Austin School of Furniture has grown faster than I could have expected. We now offer beginner to advanced classes during the daytime, evenings, and weekends and bring in students and teachers from all over North America. Recently, I have focused more and more of my free time on growing my furniture company, Waldo Furniture Co., where I strive to craft one-of-a-kind, beautiful, modern furniture.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Surviving COVID as a small business was one of the biggest challenges for the school and the festival. Outside of that, my biggest struggle has been enduring as a craftsman in a city with a continuously rising cost of living. When it comes to Waldo Furniture Co., it can take time to find the right clientele that understands the extensive effort of making a custom piece of furniture and is willing to pay for it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Waldo Furniture Co. creates custom furniture for clients with a contemporary style. I love furniture with curves and circles, and much of my work exemplifies that. I am proud of every piece I build as I always try to challenge myself with each new design. I enjoy working with clients who have a specific need that they are looking to meet with a custom furniture project but are willing to allow an artist to put their twist on the design.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important things I have learned along my journey is always to build a community around yourself, no matter what you do. Having friends and colleagues who can support and encourage you is vital and makes things much more fun!
Pricing:
- Furniture is priced per piece but generally starts at around $1,000 and goes up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.waldofurniture.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waldofurnitureco/
- Other: https://austinschooloffurniture.com/
Image Credits
Austin Waldo
