Welcome! My name is Ariel and I am a custom woodworker, metalworker, and sculptor.

I first started working with my hands as an undergraduate, while I was studying structural engineering at Brown University. During my first year I started to feel an imbalance, wherein I was learning to use brain and computer power to understand structural design, with little emphasis on applying those principles to bring those concepts to life in material form. There was a vast separation between design and fabrication.

I soon changed paths and made my own major that combined structural engineering at Brown with a program in sculpture at the neighboring Rhode Island School of Design. I started to become intimate with materials like wood, steel, and glass, learning how they are shaped and formed while simultaneously studying their engineering principles in my science classes. I strive for my work to reflect this mutual understanding - to feature the beauty of my raw materials by seamlessly integrating their structural behaviors with the aesthetic design of the piece.

My education did not end when I graduated, and indeed, it never will. One reason why I love the work I do is that there's more than a lifetime of knowledge in this tradition. I am part of a long lineage of tinkerers, craftspeople, and designers who have built upon each other's work and continually challenged themselves to improve their craft. I love participating in this legacy of learning from others while also exploring my own voice as a maker. Every piece of wood that comes through my hands is an opportunity to connect with nature, to learn something new, to listen to the story of the tree it came from, and to honor that story by using the wood with humbleness, respect, and intention. 

I am thrilled to partner up with Tradewinds Wood and offer custom, heirloom furniture pieces from such a substantial collection of fine woods from around the world. It's inspiring just to be around these amazing woods, and a great source of pride to get to transform them into functional pieces of art that will last for generations.