About Ryan: Passionate for woodworking and furniture making

I pride myself in woodworking, creating finished pieces that are heirloom quality and I stand behind each piece I create and deliver. In these times, it seems everything is mass produced, and I'm proud to be among dedicated furniture makers, committed to custom furniture making.

The commitment to quality starts with selecting and utilizing wood free from defects and continues through high-quality workmanship and finish.  

I draw my inspiration from the wood I work with; wanting each piece to highlight and showcase the beauty of solid wood. Many of the pieces I’ve created have been designed with more than one wood type, creating contrasts of wood grains, light and dark tones. 

I tend to draw influence from more minimalistic areas, such as the Shaker style, which allow the wood and the traditional joinery to be the center of attention.   

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and was exposed to woodworking at an early age. My father was a woodworking enthusiast, so I was able to learn traditional joinery methods and the woodworking craft alongside him. I got into construction and carpentry formally in my early twenties and as my career and skills progressed, I ultimately began specializing in finish carpentry with a heavy focus on millwork: staircases, mantels, and built-ins. 

Fast forward to 2015, I married my wife, Sara, and we bought our first home. That was when I was able to take my woodworking to the next level in our garage-turned-woodshop, moving into custom furniture making. I honed my skills with hand tools and began finding my design style as a craftsman. 

Many of my early woodworking furniture pieces were built for our home – a coffee table and entertainment stand for our living room, shelves for the bedroom. At that time I was still working full-time for a local company, and on nights and weekends I would build things in the shop. 

I always had the interest to ultimately transition to custom furniture making, and in 2019, I opened my Etsy shop with smaller wood crafts – shelves, keepsake boxes, valet trays, mail organizers – to see if there may be a market for the items I was building. Fortunately for me, Sara works in marketing, so she was able to help me with writing descriptions and marketing the pieces I had built. 

I saw some traction with the Etsy shop, and in 2021 I realized my goal: I quit my job and officially started RBC Furniture. It’s still a small operation – Sara continues to support the marketing side, and I continue to design, create, and build furniture.