JUSTIN

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FOUNDER & WOODWORKER

Justin founded Fernweh Woodworking in 2015 in Bend, OR. With this step into the unknown, he found his deep passion for design through woodworking, eventually specializing in furniture. He developed the Sling Chair and Tripod Table in 2017, and these designs sparked his desire to develop a full line of small-batch hand-crafted furniture. The Oxbend Collection arrived in 2020, rounding out the rest of the collection so that Fernweh Woodworking now offers furniture for every room in a house. A few of Justin’s design inspirations are Sam Maloof (particularly his passion, kindness, and work ethic); Hans Wegner (his practicality and purposeful creativity); and Finn Juhl (his pursuit of perfect curves and natural beauty). Justin studied business at Purdue University. After graduating, he joined the Marine Corps where he deployed on an advisory team working closely with Afghan Police. After moving to Oregon and joining a wildland fire Hotshot crew, he started Fernweh in the off-season from fire.

BARBARA

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SALES & MARKETING LEAD

Barbara was first introduced to the world of design by vintage furniture collector and dealer George Champion, after studying Fine Art at the University of San Francisco. Seeing the world of design through the lens of history gave her the vigor to further understand the craft. Upon moving to Oregon she joined The Good Mod working as sales, buyer, and showroom curator. This is where paths converged and Justin and Barbara first met. Barbara joined Fernweh in 2021 and is (remotely) running the Sales & Marketing side of Fernweh, as well as keeping the whole team on track with timely delivery and shipment coordination.

AARON

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PRODUCTION MANAGER & WOODWORKER

Aaron joined Fernweh in 2022, moving from Minnesota to join the team. We’re all fans of a good Minnesotan accent, and we were a tad disappointed when Aaron opened his mouth for the first time and it didn’t sound like he was stepping off the set of Fargo. But it turns out that movie isn’t really that accurate anyway. Who knew? Aaron spent a lot of time tooling around in his grandpa’s woodshop as a kid. In (and after) high school, he was a framer. He joined the Marine Corps and eventually worked as a manager in an Airframe Mechanic shop on the C-130’s. More recently, he studied under Tim Rousseau at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, especially enjoying the Product Development and Case Work curricula. Aaron’s expertise was pivotal in developing the fjoon collection, as well as production techniques for the Nyala batch fabrication. In his own time, Aaron enjoys making custom flag displays, especially for military funerals.

SARA

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WOODWORKER

Sara joined Fernweh in 2020 and quickly mastered good-natured coworker abuse with her quick wit as dry as our high desert air. She grew up in Alaska and thus won’t let us refer to the “contiguous 48 states” ... it has to be the “lower 48.” She’s been in the industry for awhile, coming most recently from a cabinet shop working on custom doors. Justin and Sara first met in local woodworking circles a few years back, and we are so lucky that she wanted to shift from doors to furniture! She has quickly become the shops most proficient applicator of finishes. She studied Sociology at the University of Oregon.