About Us
Nestled under the leafy canopy of a small woodland lies a little workshop where Joe designs and makes his hand crafted furniture. Joe has had a lifelong love of creating things with wood. When he left school nearly 20 years ago, he trained as a carpenter joiner, he soon realised that creating furniture was what he most loved so he went on to study design. During his time at Art College he found he also had a passion for photography and then moved to Hereford where he gained his 1st class degree in photography.
It was during his time at University that he met his wife Natalie. After University Joe moved to Birmingham to live with Natalie and worked for a number of years as a photographer, however the pull of creating furniture with wood was always with him. As fate would have it in 2013 Joe was made redundant from his photography role and using the little redundancy money he had, he invested in some new tools to accompany his old ones, and started undertaking furniture projects and honing his skills as a designer maker.
Launching avie & oak
In 2015 Joe launched avie & oak, with the emphasis on beautiful and functional bespoke furniture. He has also self-taught himself how to hand carve lettering giving him the ability to create stunning personalised gifts, signs and furniture. Since he launched avie & oak Joe has created furniture for people all over the country right from the Scottish Highlands down to Cornwall, ranging from dining tables, wardrobes, built-in furniture to beautiful childrens furniture just to name a few.
Family
Family is very much at the centre of Joe's life and his design ethos; he’ll often try out new designs at home to help him see how his furniture works within a busy family household. Joe’s wife Natalie is his biggest asset and without her love and support he wouldn’t have been able to embark on his passion of making furniture. The support from Natalie and their two small Children, and of course their mischievous boarder terrier is what drives Joe to push himself to further his skills and passion for what he does.
Materials
The materials Joe uses and the environment they come from are very important to him. All the wood is hand selected and comes from sustainably managed forests. So ordering either a bespoke piece of furniture or one from avie & oak’s online shop you’ll know that the materials are not only of the highest quality but also environmentally friendly. The furniture Joe creates is built to last for generations so there’s also less throw away furniture going into landfill.
If you’re interested in commissioning a piece of furniture then please get in touch with Joe via our contact page.