SUTPHIN HARDWOOD DESIGN
Local Custom Furniture to Last Generations
By BRANDI M. GOMEZ
R
yan Sutphin, creator and owner
of Sutphin Hardwood Design, has
created custom furniture for Texas
residents since 2017. His custom, modern,
and minimalistic styles have caught
local interest, and the secret behind his
growing business is staying small.
Sutphin’s father sparked his interests
in wood creations, but it wasn’t until
joining a framing crew for his dad and
experiencing this niche trade in the Army
that he found a slab of wood in Hawaii,
where he made his first dining room table.
From there, Sutphin knew it was what
he wanted to do, so after serving in the
Army for eight years, Sutphin moved
to College Station where he established
Sutphin Hardwood Design and started
ramping up his trade out of his own garage.
“My goal is to make furniture that will
last generations,” says Sutphin. “Furniture
that grandkids will fight over.”
With a “you don’t change the piece, you
change around the piece” mentality, Sutphin
describes his work as heirloom furniture.
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Most of Sutphin’s clients reach out through
social media with an idea of what they
are looking for and from there Sutphin is
with them all the way, until their desired
product is complete.
From putting together sample boards,
to narrowing down designs, this back-
and-forth contact keeps him and his client
on the same page throughout the building
process. Once the piece is done, Sutphin is
more than happy to deliver and set it up,
eager to keep this customer relationship
an important element to his business.
“My business is for people that like
really nice furniture and who are willing
to put time into something instead of
going to the store to buy it,” says Sutphin.
Sutphin is willing to do any design
desired by his clients, but his favorite
sort of work is custom builds. He can
build dining room tables and chair sets to
everything in between.
One of Sutphin’s current projects is in
collaboration with Texas A&M University,
constructing The Grove Wall at the 21st
Century Classroom Building. This project
is one of the biggest Sutphin has ever
had, taking down wood from trees that
were around The Grove, what used to be a
concert venue, and building them up and
turning them into a wood-panel wall.
While big projects are coming his way,
in 10 years, Sutphin sees his business
staying small. This is because he wants to
stay close to his clients, where his hands
are always in the process.
“I see other people want to grow,
grow, and grow, and get the big tools and
the big facilities, but I have all the tools I
need,” says Sutphin. “I just want to keep
it where I am the one talking to the client,
delivering, and making it. I don’t want to
get away from that, because I feel like it
takes away the quality.”
Sutphin would just like to keep his
business going, getting nice projects, and
getting awesome clients, he says.
“I used to be ashamed of the shop
because it is my garage at my house but
now, I really embrace it,” says Sutphin. “It