Andy Rae

Andy Rae has been working wood for nearly three decades, designing and building furniture as well as teaching and writing about the craft. He worked in the shops of George Nakashima and Frank Klausz during his formative years, then opened his own design/build studio, making furniture as well as architectural built-ins. Rae has always eschewed specific styles, preferring “to work with honest material in an honest way, one that reflects sound design and solid craftsmanship at its very best,” he says. In 1990 Rae was awarded a Fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts for his furniture designs.

Rae spent six years on staff with American Woodworker magazine when it was owned by Rodale Press. As senior editor he published articles by woodworking enthusiasts and penned numerous bylines. He wrote his first woodworking book in 2001 (Furniture and Cabinet Construction, Taunton Press) and has since authored four more, including Working with Wood (2005, Taunton Press). In addition to making furniture and writing about it, Rae teaches regularly at schools and clubs. (See William Ng Woodworks at www.wnwoodworks.com.) Probably his biggest thrill-besides woodworking-is tooling around the mountains of Western North Carolina on a motorcycle, often with a sidecar attached and kid or two-and sometimes a tongue-wagging dog-in tow.