Meet Sean Woolsey | Furniture Designer and Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sean Woolsey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I grew up making things by hand, and always knew I would have my own business one day. My father made stained glass doors, windows and lamps for people all over the world, and I grew up deeply involved in skate and surf culture. I was building skate ramps and sewing my own clothing from an early age. Fast forward to after college, I did apparel brands for about 6 years, then wanted to pivot to making things with my own two hands. I started woodworking purely for the fun of it, and deeply fell in love with the process of furniture making. I never set out to have a furniture brand, it very naturally evolved over time, as a passion project turned into a business.
I still have a childlike curiosity on how things are made, and we are always working on new pieces.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We make luxury handcrafted furniture, all hand made in California. We have a small team of craftsman working in our shop, and we sub out locally to other talented craftspeople. Every order is customizable, and made to order.
Our studio and showroom is in Costa Mesa, CA, yet we sell our work worldwide. We sell to designers and end customers all over the world, and have become sought after for our gaming tables (ping pong, shuffleboard, and pool tables). We have some poker tables in the works as well as other fun new items. It has been an uphill climb the entire way, but a fun slow progress of skills and business savvy. The advice I always give to people just starting out is to keep your overhead low and your passion and learning high, and avoid a commodity market that is a race to the bottom.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A best friend coming into town for a week, we would surf, trail run (in Laguna Coast Wilderness) drink all the best coffee at my fave spots: Neat Coffee, Work in Progress, Daydream Surfshop, Stereoscope and Coffee Dose. We would eat at all the best spots in town: Bear Flag fish, Playground in Santa Ana, Gracias Madre, Ahba in Laguna Beach,
We would also swing up to LA for a day or two and visit my good friends: Stephen Kenn at his showroom, Truck Furniture, Klein Agency new retail store, stop into Proper Hotel and eat lunch at Highly Likely, and dinner at Felix Tratoria in Venice Beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents for sure. They have always supported me and believed in my success. My wife also has been by my side through it all. Lastly the team that I have worked with has been huge, present and past, and deserves wild recognition.

Website: https://www.seanwoolsey.com

Instagram: seanwoolseystudio

Image Credits
Lonnie Webb
Johnny Talay