How to order

A guide to purchasing custom furniture

This page is intended to guide you in the process of ordering a custom piece of furniture. This web site's purpose is to give you a taste of what I can do for you. All the pieces displayed here are already sold, if not noted otherwise.

I do two types of work, custom orders and original designs. The difference is that a custom order is created on the request of you, and through a process of communication, sketches and drawing I will make a piece to fit you.

Original design, on the other hand, means that I build a piece from my hearts own inspiration and put it up for sale in a gallery, show or this web page. If you see it and like it, you buy it. Simple.

I have currently two galleries on Maui which sells my work: Hana Coast Gallery and Arthur Dennis Williams Gallery

Custom order, on the other hand, is a little more complicated. I will try to explain the process here;

Let's say that you are looking for a koa wood dresser, and they are hard to find, might need to have it custom built. Maybe you heard of me, maybe you did a search on Google, anyway, you found me. You call or email me, and we talk, exchange idea's and I start to get a picture of what you want. I draw you a sketch, just to help you visualize what I have in mind

I send the sketch to you, email or regular. Here you can see the overall shape and function of a six drawer dresser. At this point you tell me what you like or not like, and I make adjustments accordingly. This is supposed to be an easy "on the back of a napkin" process.

Next, I am ready to make you a detailed drawing, supply you with wood samples if necessary, and a written proposal including specifications, price and delivery time. For this I typically charge $300, a drafting fee which will be rolled into the purchase price.

Here is a sample of the drawing generated from the above process. A detailed drawing with dimensions will clarify any questions before I start building. This is also the drawing I will use in my shop to create the actual piece of furniture.

At this point, if you like what you see, and feel OK about sending lots of money to a stranger, you are required to mail me a deposit check, 50% of the agreed price. And the waiting begins.... Typically my lead time is about 6 months, but it varies. When your piece is finished, I will take pictures and send to you, crate the furniture and ship it. Crating is included, you pay the shipping. Shipping to the mainland is usually about 10% of the cost of the furniture. I use Lynden Air Freight to the mainland, Maui delivery is free.

Here is the finished product in all it's glory! And to ease your curiosity, to order a dresser like this would cost $7-8,000. If you have more questions, click on the "Contact me" button down to the right......

Aloha, Mats Fogelvik