A Family Business Came Out of the Woodwork

Bryan and Erin Kerr knew that following the entrepreneurial urge to launch their own family business meant leaving satisfying, good-paying jobs behind and stepping into the great unknown. That was a tough decision to make, especially while raising a young daughter. 

But after relocating to Asheville in 2020, all the material metaphors came true: They bravely went out on a limb, knocked on wood, and the doors for them flew open. Now Kerr Woodworking’s biggest challenge is keeping up with all their commissioned projects.

The boutique company offers custom furniture tailored to various aesthetic preferences — but consistently leaning toward modern — as well as a made-to-order furniture line that includes exquisite, gorgeously grained credenzas; stately free-standing cupboards; and elegant dining tables and side pieces. The Kerr home-goods portfolio, sold out of their River Arts District space and through independent local retailers, features cutting boards, votive holders, plant stands, and adorably shaped arched vases. These smaller items are crafted from the cuts that are left over after creating furniture, which makes for less waste and also makes the company’s work available at a wider spectrum of price points.

Erin hints about future bespoke ware. “We have other home-goods items we have not yet paired with local shops, which I’m working on,” she says.

“We also collaborate with designers and architectural firms [like the local firm Harding Huebner Architecture] to create whatever their clients need, and those projects are really fun,” Bryan says. “We love Midcentury furniture and more contemporary and classical forms with a contemporary spin.” The craftsman says he favors ash, oak, and walnut, resulting in three color-tone options: light, medium, and dark. 

“Natural wood is a beautiful canvas, and I always want the wood to do the talking, with clean and simple lines.” 

Bryan tried to break into the furniture field shortly after leaving college, but at that time furniture manufacturing in the United States was in steep decline. So he took a job with a moving company — which turned out to be a furniture-adjacent gig. The company contracted with George Nakashima Woodworkers, a world-renowned maker of finely handcrafted furniture whose namesake founder was a pioneering leader of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Touring the shop made a powerful impression on Bryan, and the craftsmanship he witnessed still informs his attention to deal and design vision. 

Soon he took a job with an auction house, where he starting learning how to deconstruct furniture and do repairs to prep it for sale. That experience expanded his repertoire of practical skills as well as his eye for design, both of which became more refined when he accepted a position at Henrybuilt in Seattle, a luxury cabinetry company with a national reach. He also worked for years for a husband-and-wife team at their handcrafted furniture company Chadhaus — which provided an inspirational template for Kerr Woodworking. 

“Being at Chadhaus was a catalyst,” says Bryan. The couple wanted to embark on a similar venture of their own, with Erin handling much of the business and logistics. But the idea of launching anything in Seattle was beginning to be a dim prospect. “The city was getting more and more expensive,” says Bryan, “and it would have been a Herculean task finding a space to rent.” As Erin explains, “Bryan and I had discussed starting our own furniture company prior to leaving Seattle, but it wasn’t until we moved [to Asheville] that the opportunity organically revealed itself. The community here was what really made this all happen, by offering tons of support and guidance for which we are extremely grateful.”

Aided, no doubt, by Erin’s years of experience as a project manager, the couple seems to have a knack for dovetailing their talents with the powers of the universe.

“I don’t know how he does it,” says Erin, “but Bryan can look at a piece of raw wood and see the furniture piece in it and how he would lay it out.” 

Kerr Woodworking, Foundation Woodworks, 17 Foundy St. in Asheville’s River Arts District. Home goods are sold at Foundation and also carried by There There (20 Artful Way, Suite 110, therethereshop.co); Ware (797 Haywood Road, Suite 101, wareavl.com); and OWL Bakery North (197 Charlotte St., ). For inquiries about commissioned furniture and other custom items, call 828-450-6294 or e-mail hello@kerrwoodworking.com