About Andy & Aaron

Andy began working with wood about 25 years ago. As a youngster his father taught him the basics. He began in general construction, working up to finishing work. He got a job in Maryland working on a very special house which was required to be as “perfect” as men could make it. He worked with some of the best carpenters in the country and left that job with the precision craftsmanship skills needed to build furniture.

Andy began taking his son Aaron, then 13, to work during the summer months. Aaron says that now, after working along side his dad for so many years, he can read his father's mind. He and Andy are partners now and design their furniture together; so much in sync they often do not remember who came up with the idea first. Aaron’s specialty is carving and he does most of the hand-carvings that adorn some of their furniture. He also creates hand-carved juniper bowls which he inlays with turquoise or semi-precious stones.

When Andy moved from Maryland back to his home state of New Mexico, he decided to start his own business. Being very artistic, he wanted to design as well as construct. Working first out of his brother’s garage, he built primarily in the Southwest or Santa Fe style, following the heritage of his ancestors who came to New Mexico from Spain during the time of the Conquistadors. He began developing his own style and designed a chair back which is ergonomically correct. It's as comfortable as it is beautiful. He combined many of the Santa Fe influences with the Mission or Stickley style.

In the summer of 1996, Earl, a woodcutter, came into the shop with a huge slab of alligator juniper. He and his wife, Kathleen, had come across it in the Gila National Forest and did not have the heart to cut it up into firewood. Coming out of national forest meant that the wood had to be dead-standing and carried out by hand so as not to damage the forest floor. Earl had gone to great effort to bring this slab of juniper to him.

Alligator juniper is characteristically very twisted and short. However, when it grows among the pines and is left alone for hundreds of years, it will occasionally grow straight and tall. It grows almost exclusively in New Mexico and Arizona in the lower elevation forests, receiving very little rainfall. The bark gives it its name, being very distinctive and resembling an alligator’s skin. He asked if Andy thought he could use it. Andy immediately accepted the challenge and thus began an entirely new line of furniture.

When Andy and Aaron first started using the alligator juniper, they knew of no one else who used it to build furniture. Ranchers had been using it for years to build fence posts because of its durability. They are proud to be among the first to discover the beauty of this wood and bring it into prominence. They estimate that there are fifty to sixty rings to an inch, making the wood of most of their tables over a thousand years old. Andy fills in cracks to preserve the features of the wood. If there is a natural hole in the wood, they often fill it with pieces of stone or marble from a local quarry. The wood itself sometimes determines the usage. By leaving rough edges and using stumps for table bases, Andy preserves the rustic beauty of the tree. By developing an oil and wax finish, which takes as long as ten days to apply, this gives each piece a smooth elegance. The velvety texture of the wood invites touching and yet is extremely durable, resisting moisture and scratches.

Another feature of Andy’s work is his use of book matching. Since they know the woodcutter they can request book matched slabes. He then accents his pieces with a variety of semi precious stones, silver, or coral, always trying to make each piece a unique work of art. No two pieces are, or could be alike. Every piece they build will be signed with their trademark Double "A" logo.

His wife Cheryl is the office administrator, their children have all helped at one time or another in the shop. Daniel, his youngest son also works full time in the shop. With the increase in business they have recently hired Maria Moreno, a full time graphic designer and their office assistant. She manages their web site, and eNewsletter along with coordinating shipping and helping with marketing.

Andy and Aaron's goal for their furniture is two-fold. Their desire is to create heirloom pieces, that will last for generations, and to artistically display the beauty within nature. Preserving the natural beauty of the wood, and causing the spirit within man to be in awe of God’s creation.