where it all began…

It was the middle of winter 2014. I had just received the keys to my very first home.  At the time I was working fulltime as a chef at the best winery on the Mornington peninsula. Working 60-80 hour weeks, I would spend my days off and a small amount of spare time, renovating my own home with the help of my father. 

My father is..what they call a jack of all trades, he would slowly introduce me to  the craft of carpentry and minor woodworking. After a month playing the role of the apprentice I started taking on individual small projects like floating shelves, bench tops and picture frames for myself, using reclaimed timber from the house. This is where the initial passion of furniture making and using reclaimed resources began.

Over the following 5 years, my passion for working in hospitality would dwindle as the desire to create hand crafted pieces of furniture and homewares surpassed that of my day job. In 2020 I put everything on the line, quit my job, sold my house on the peninsula and moved to a small apartment in Richmond to pursue furniture making. 

The inspiration to begin a brand came initially out of necessity. Covid had just hit Australia and restrictions had begun. I was looking for a solution having just uprooted my life, with the idea of commencing a course and finding a space to work having suddenly disappeared. I was stuck in the city with minimal support , requiring a means of income.  This is when friends and family requested specific furniture that wasn't readily available due to restrictions and custom to their needs. I saw this as not only a challenge but an enjoyable task. Therefore, Ricky Wood Design was created. 

Ricky Wood Design aims to create beautiful pieces of heirloom furniture using sustainable reclaimed timber. Each piece is made to tell a story and connect each person to their furniture. My goal is to find a solution through custom handcrafted pieces for the clients according to their needs, whether it be in a specific size or to specific detail, with each unique creation thoughtfully made in Melbourne from sustainably sourced hardwood. 

The mission is simple….

“Rid the world of single use furniture one piece at a time”

As I began diving completely head first into the world of reclaimed and sustainable furniture practises I would start to notice more and more single use furniture on the side of the road, cheap side tables, chairs, shelves, dinning tables and couches bought from big overseas companies using unsustainable products, they’d be ready for landfill after probably only a year of use. The design being that of what ever was trendy twelve months earlier and no longer aesthetically pleasing and obviously not fitting the new ‘vibe’. From then on, and I know its probably impossible but I’ve wanted to make it my mission to rid the world of single use furniture.

Thats where the idea of creating furniture for not only this lifetime but the next…