Founded in 2014 by designer and woodworker Kate Casey, Peg Woodworking is a Brooklyn-based company that embraces a rich tradition of craftsmanship. Joining traditional details with contemporary designs, each piece is handmade and designed in-house. Our journey began with Kate’s intense material curiosity, honed through years as a sculptor, craftsperson, and fabricator, driving us to approach each design with meticulous attention to both form and function. Kate’s educational background includes a BFA in Sculpture and Printmaking from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, complemented by a semester at Yale University’s program for Art and Music and intensive training in the Furniture Program at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Drawing inspiration from the clean lines of Shaker and Scandinavian design, Peg Woodworking offers a fresh perspective on traditional craftsmanship. Take a look at these wooden wonders in today’s Maker Monday.
The Euclid Shelf is a sculptural form that can serve as a room divider or styled for shelving.
Andrew Joseph: Can you describe a project that you’re particularly proud of?
Kate Casey: In 2019 we were asked by Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign to make a podium for her Washington Square Park speech out of historical lumber from the Francis Perkins estate. Francis Perkins was the first woman in a presidential cabinet and as an all-female woodworking company, I was unbelievably honored. We had our female-identifying friends come over during the fabrication to write positive messages in the base before we clad it in the historical material. It felt huge to be able to use my skills to push for a cause that was personally meaningful and culturally significant.
AJ: How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?
KC: I love the woven components in the work. This gives me a much quieter and meditative process to engage in. It’s almost like slow-motion drawing, as a printer would, line by line. I love seeing the pattern slowly emerge. Also, the duality of the weaving is exciting to me. That it can be both visual and functional. Similar to making functional furniture within the bounds of sculpture the weaving has to work as a comfortable seat and also be aesthetically striking.
The Jolene dining chair is an elegant nod to deco architecture. The fluted legs provide a slender verticality that pairs with the textured hand woven seat and backrest.
AJ: What is your favorite design trend from the past?
KC: My favorite design trends from the past are sunken living rooms with patterned carpeting. I love how this design has a nostalgic charm that incorporates a tiered living space, creating a cozy and intimate atmosphere for socializing and gathering. The sunken area serves as a centralized location in the home, making it perfect for hosting guests or spending quality time with family.
What truly captivates me about this trend is the cascading carpeting that adds a touch of whimsy and comfort to the space. The trippy effect of a busy carpet pattern cascading into the recessed nook creates a unique visual interest and adds personality to the room. It transforms the sunken area into a cozy retreat, inviting people to relax and unwind in style.
AJ: How do you incorporate client feedback into your designs?
KC: We incorporate client feedback into our designs by offering extensive customization options tailored to their preferences. Our ability to custom-tailor each piece includes adjusting dimensions, providing custom finishing touches, and offering hand-weaving in multiple patterns. Additionally, we can generate patterns that complement preexisting upholstery or wallpaper in a client’s space.
By involving clients in the design process and accommodating their specific requests, we ensure that the end product feels completely personalized and made for them. This level of customization allows clients to feel more integrated into the design journey, fostering a sense of ownership and connection with the final piece. Ultimately, our goal is to create furniture that not only meets but exceeds our clients’ expectations, reflecting their unique style and vision.
The Freya Lounge Chair is heavily inspired by midcentury modern seating. The hand woven cotton seat pierces through the white oak frame creating a graphic and commanding profile.
AJ: What is your favorite design element to incorporate into your projects?
KC: My favorite design element to incorporate into my projects is texture. Texture adds depth and dimension to my pieces, inviting touch and creating a sensory experience for the viewer/user. I particularly enjoy integrating hand weaving and the use of faceted coopered forms to enhance texture in my designs. Hand weaving adds a tactile quality that brings warmth and character to the surface, while faceted coopered forms introduce visual interest and create a dynamic play of light and shadow. By combining these elements, I strive to create furniture that not only looks beautiful but also engages the senses, inviting people to interact with and experience the piece on a deeper level.
AJ: How do you incorporate art into your designs?
KC: I see my work as very modern and functional but I pay a heavy nod to stylized sculptural forms. I love Danish modern furniture and the intricacy of the woven detailing. I utilize traditional woodworking methods to make my work and I love the connection to hand crafts that have survived booms in industry and technology. I do find it important to make work with a point of view and for me, bringing the classical to the contemporary and merging my artistic style with traditional function gives my work a signature. My artistic process is a lot about experimentation and play. My love of wood as a material is in no small part due to its forgiving nature. There are as many ways to fix things as there are to screw them up and to me, this is very fun. Wood has structural limitations but is still incredibly versatile. This narrows my creative scope to what is possible with the material, but within that, I am allowed to play. For me, the artistic impulse is so much about the creative problem solving and playing with new techniques which keeps me actively interested.
AJ: What’s a new hobby/skill that you have learned recently?
KC: Lately I have been very captivated by floral arranging. I love the temporary nature of working with living things. It prevents me from getting too precious with any one piece. I also have been using floral dye to experiment with color and tonality. Working in wood there is not a lot of opportunity to work with color so the byproduct of floral arranging has been the color theory lessons that are baked in with the process.
About the Maker | Weaving together elements from diverse cultural influences, including Nordic, Peruvian, and American Indian weaving traditions, Peg Woodworking handcrafts each piece in-house, tailoring them with unique patterns and colors. Their commitment to creating harmonious objects draws them to mixed media components, such as weaving, stone, and metal. In their studio, they carefully pair these materials, creating pieces that not only capture the eye but also serve as functional works of art. The mix of intricate details and geometric precision defines their signature style.
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