Stories from the Studio

About the Main Ingredient in our Furniture Line: Domestic Hardwoods

Many ingredients need to be just right to create high-quality wooden furniture. What makes timber high quality, and where do we get it? First let's talk about a couple of values before meeting one of our SF Bay Area main suppliers: Moore Newton.

Boosted Branding Through Custom Displays - Umber & Ochre Case Study

Standing out in a crowd can be a tough ask for any business selling at fashion trade shows and craft expo events. Aisles of merchandise begin to blend away. The tight spaces and busy backgrounds of these venues do no favors to the hard work brands put into creating their products. This was the problem San Francisco-based small business...

Contemporary geometric hardwood bench made of White Ash and Sensuede; by design studio JOHI

Luxury in Benches

Benches have long supported households, outdoor spaces, and commercial environments as common area group seating. They could be used for lounging and dining, as well as sleeping. Whether benches versus chairs exist in a space today, the line between common and luxury comes with a consideration of similar factors to long ago...

Design Story: A Modern Hardwood Bench

Enter the Whispering Bench. Its unconventional cushion layout and polished wood draw you in with color and form. At a glance, it is refreshing. On closer inspection, it is refined. This comfortable and modern two-seater is designed to feel at home whether at the foot of the bed or in a grand hotel entryway,

2023 Recap - Some Firsts & Some Favorites

Every winter, we reflect on all of our projects and relationships of the year, amazed – How can time fly by so fast? 2023 Brought Us Our First: Exhibition of work during San Francisco Design Week -- The Locally Crafted Home member showcase by Bay Area Made, hosted at Gantri...

Details That Elevate

It’s easy for us to forget that when we talk about craftsmanship and the value of slow craft, it can mean something different to everyone. As woodworkers, we forget that our customers...

Kamehana Desk, Updated

The Kamehana Desk has had a place in the JOHI lineup since before JOHI was officially formed. Really! It is one of the first pieces we ever made, and though...

Two-Toned SIMPLE in Mango

We've created a special batch of Mango stools for West Coast Craft their summer 2023 show. These two-tone stools have lots of movement and color ranging from persimmon to yellow....

How It's Made – Best Seller – SIMPLE STOOL

Our Simple Stools have been a studio favorite for two years now! They have evolved along the way and just keep getting better. Long overdue, we are excited to share...

Summer '22 Most Exciting Builds

Though each of these started out as custom orders, they have since become part of our permanent collection. We love them that much!

Sourcing & Using Our First Monterey Cypress Slabs

After moving to Santa Cruz from Hawai‘i, it took us a few good months to lock into our space here in Watsonville. So we took advantage of the “idle” time between shopping for commercial leases to be as ready for a move-in as we could be. That meant finding...