My name is Adam Godet.  I live in Washington, DC and I design and build custom hardwood furniture and teach woodworking.

The business is just me: one-person shop using traditional methods and some modern tools. My business approach is to build fewer, better things. With finite time on this planet, I will only have the opportunity to make so many things. I want each of them to be really special.

Fewer, better things is also an approach to homes and interiors that I appreciate. The notion is that we can free ourselves from clutter and surround ourselves with beautiful, handmade items. Glenn Adamson wrote a book by the same title that goes deeper into this idea. I am honored each time someone chooses my work to add to their home.

I’ve been interested in woodworking since I was a kid watching The New Yankee Workshop with my dad. We lived in rural upstate New York where doing things yourself is part of life. I learned to use tools by watching and helping my father and other handy family members.

It was after college, when I was book-rich and cash-poor that I began to grow this passion. Imbued with the DIY attitude of my rural upbringing, I set out to build my own bookshelves. I bought a few boards, a sanding block, a handsaw, and a square. I borrowed my father’s screw gun and hammer, and spent my evenings after work building two matching bookcases.

These bookcases probably would have received failing grades from any shop teacher.  They are not square; they have crude joints; and one of the shelves is too short.  I’ve come a long way since then, but I still use these shelves. There was a particular type of joy and pride I felt from taking raw materials and turning them into usable pieces of furniture. It was also a grounding activity at a time of change. I have no idea why, at 22 (and broke) I thought it wise to spend the money buying tools and materials when I could have bought bookshelves at Walmart for half the price…but I don’t think I would have found this passion in the Home Furnishings department.

Since then, the time spent learning to build furniture and make home repairs has grown more into a sense of freedom. Being able to design and build something that does exactly what you need it to do is empowering; even more so when you can coax beautiful hardwoods into pieces that will last a lifetime.

My friend Shawn created a video that tells a bit more about me and shows me at work. It was filmed in 2019. A bit has changed with my business since then, but the core principles are all the same.