Meet Ryan of RBehnerWoodwork: Where Scandinavian Refinement Meets Organic Soul
Ryan treats each project as a living dialogue between the clean lines of Danish Modern design and the untamed warmth of green woodworking. He begins by envisioning how a piece will inhabit your home, its lines, its light, its presence, then lets that vision guide every mill, every joint, every chamfer. The outcome is furniture that feels both impeccably groomed and deeply rooted in wood’s natural character.
His favorite moment? The final passages of finish work, when time’s investment in chamfers, rounded corners, and silky sanding reveals itself. “A great finish takes time,” Ryan says. “When you touch it, you feel that care.” It’s in that transformation, from raw boards to a tactile piece of refined warmth, that his joy and your first impression reside.
Beyond the shop’s rhythm of shavings and planes, you’ll find Ryan chasing waves on San Diego’s shores or sketching leather projects for future exploration. Family gatherings, surfboard in tow, keep him grounded, and those moments of flow and experimentation feed back into his woodworking practice.
His sketchbook brims with bucket-list aspirations: ladder-back chairs hewn from green wood, Windsor styles that marry intricate joinery with graceful curves. And in his hand, the trusty hand plane remains indispensable “it cuts sanding time in half and feels like an extension of your own hand.”
“Good design should balance form and function.”