Conversations with Will Peebles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Peebles.

Hi Will, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Well, I dropped out of college after working in a cubicle for a summer. I moved to Chattanooga and delivered pizzas for about 3 years and became desperate for something to do. I somehow heard about the Chattanooga Woodworking Academy and decided to try it out. Our first project was carving a spoon, and I fell in love with it. While studying traditional joinery and furniture building, I probably made 50 spoons by the end of the first year. By the 3rd year I had become pretty infatuated with building furniture and becoming a professional furniture designer and builder. I ended up teaching at the school for a fifth year in exchange for access to the school facilities. I made and sold a half dozen large pieces of furniture throughout my time at the school. Then I got married, moved back to Nashville, and went to work at a big commercial cabinet shop for 2 years. I enjoyed working there and learned a lot from the older guys that worked there.
2 years ago, I quit my job to work full time in my sculptor uncle’s old workshop in my grandmother’s back yard. I absolutely love coming here every day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Woodworking gave me a direction to go in. Before I had woodworking, my life was a lot rougher. Delivering pizzas and going to bars and sleeping all day was fun, but I wasn’t happy. I was very deliberate in starting this business. I collected tools and equipment for 7 years while working other jobs. I did not leave my previous job until I had over a year’s worth of work lined up. There’s been financial struggles with starting a business, but I also have an incredibly supportive wife and family.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in finely made, heirloom quality, custom, wood furniture. I hand select all of my materials, and with help from my customers, design exactly what they want. I use traditional woodworking techniques to ensure that my pieces will be handed down to future generations.
I also am currently working towards creating some of my own designs, which will lean a little more towards art than the custom pieces I’ve been making.
I also repair and refinish wood furniture. I love when people decide to fix or refinish a piece of furniture rather than throw it away. It’s usually sentimental pieces, because the cost to fix is usually more than the cost to replace.
I’m most proud of the quality of my work. I’m confident that my furniture will be around much, much longer than I am.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
My wife and I were both born at Baptist hospital and have lived in the Nashville area for the majority of our lives. I graduated from Hillsboro High School and she graduated from Father Ryan. We have 2 adorable sons, and a cat.

Pricing:

• Coffee tables start at $2000*
• Kitchen tables start at $4000*
• Dining tables start at $7000*
• Beds start at $5000*
• *depending on final design

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Peebles_Wood