Thank you for visiting Gresham Woodworks.  Here in New Orleans, I craft custom furniture and cabinetry to suit your home, office, or business needs using only quality materials of all species, including hardwood, exotic woods, and reclaimed materials, and build to any specification.  Each piece is handcrafted to order, by me, with devoted attention to detail, using traditional woodworking methods and joinery, including hand-cut dovetails, mortise & tenons, and hand-planed surfaces.  All furniture and cabinetry are of heirloom quality and their solid wood construction will stand the test of time.  
                                                                                                                                             -Jeremy Gresham
These are only a few examples of fine furniture I build:

In addition to furniture and cabinetry, I offer a host of other services including custom woodworking, wood turnings, furniture restoration, repair, and refinishing.  Click the services tab above for more information.  You can view the gallery tab above for images of recent work. Inquiries or comments may be sent by using the contact tab or by phone.  Also, be sure to  check the featured tab to see what I'm working on, learn interesting facts, and get helpful tips on furniture care.     
                                           Read what previous customers said here.  

I lumped materials and finish together because deciding on what kind of wood or material you choose can directly affect the choices for finish.  For instance, if you decide to have nightstands built from solid cherry, you're most likely not going to want to stain or paint them and hide the beautiful, rich color.  On the other hand, using a secondary and much lighter wood such as poplar in a piece paired with a darker wood might require the use of a stain, or a process called toning, to even the contrast between the two.  Finally, if those same nightstands were built entirely of poplar they might be stained to look like cherry.  However, I feel that stain should be reserved, as much as possible, to enhance wood and not disguise it.

That being said, the choice of wood can sometimes simply be one's personal taste.  Some people like the sunny, golden character of oak, while others like the richer and warmer tones of mahogany, cherry, or sapele.  Exotic woods such as purple heart, zebra, bubinga, bucote, and padauk lend brilliant natural colors and interesting contrast and grain.  Because some of the more rare woods can be costly, in furniture pieces they are often used as accents or veneers to compliment the design.  Some woods, and depending on the resource, are endangered and should be avoided.  The woods pictured here are to exhibit the drastic contrast various species offer and their natural potential.

Recycled or reclaimed wood offers character to furniture and cabinetry freshly milled wood can't offer, and I strongly advocate the reuse and re-purposing of existing materials as they are a precious resource.  The patina, amber hue, distress from square nail holes, and dings are often replicated by various faux techniques, but never to the gravity the real thing brings to the table (no pun intended).  Some woods are older growth, such as red heart pine (also known as long leaf pine).  Simply stated, wood like this came from a forest that once had giant trees, and the older, slow growth allowed a tightly grained heartwood to develop that is not as prevalent in common wood today.   It's know for disease and fire resistance, as well as density and beauty.  It's instantly recognized by the red and yellow tightly striped grain and  is just one of many examples of materials to consider for your custom furniture design.

At our meeting we'll discuss the materials that will best suit the project, as well as the options for an appropriate finish to achieve the result you're looking for, best showcases the wood's natural beauty, and protect your new custom furniture.  Options include low VOC and durable finishes like water-based poly acrylic or water-based modified polyurethane, classic shellac which is sustainable, hand-rubbed finishes, and even more modern catalyzed finishes where appropriate.  Finishes can be applied by hand, or HVLP sprayed.  HVLP means High Volume Low Pressure, and is the ideal way to spray any finish.  Because of this technology, over-spray is minimized, less product is wasted, finishes can be applied on site and indoors, and it's better for us and the environment.