Like so many great ideas and rock bands that go on to world domination, Heller & Heller Furniture began in our garage.

it all started

HELLER & HELLER

in our garage

After decades of experience making furniture, in 2008 Dave began specializing in furniture and artwork using veneer and decorative marquetry to explore more pattern and unapologetically bold wood grain in his pieces. In 2017 Dave started demonstrating and teaching his techniques, and spreading the word of decorated furniture has become his primary focus.

Now more than 40 years later, Dave works and teaches in his purpose-built 900 sqft. woodshop (designed to look like a garage) and instead of his kids, it's his grandkids playing in the sawdust.

meet your maker(s)

In his own words: I have always made things, and wood calls to me. I did Chemical Engineering things for 30 years but in 2009 I escaped big oil and started making furniture full time. I have gravitated towards smaller and more elaborate pieces over the past 14 years, and expect that trend to continue. 

I enjoy creating furniture that wants to be noticed, and is maybe a little pushy about it. My pieces speak with gorgeous woods, elegant shapes and vibrant color combinations, to decorate your spaces exactly as you’d like. I work in traditional styles like Federal, Art Deco, and Art Nouveau, and more modern derivations from them.

Marquetry and veneering are ways to dress up woodworking that are not difficult but require some specialized understanding. I mostly learned from books, but it is much faster to learn from a person. I was asked to share my techniques first in 2017, and things have grown from there. I taught technical things while in corporate America, and teaching marquetry is much easier because the students are so enthusiastic! I want to pass the techniques I have learned or developed to the next generation, so naked furniture becomes a thing of the past. 

Dave

FURNITURE MAKER | INSTRUCTOR

the Gaffer

As in life, Dave is joined in the business by his wife Elizabeth, whose specialties include getting things done properly, and with intense thoroughness.

Elizabeth (aka Chief Cook & Bottle Washer) wears many hats – from answering bellows from the workshop for extra hands before the glue dries, to packaging and shipping on-line orders, sanding chopping boards, acting as teaching assistant and making sure Dave remembers to eat occasionally – she does a little bit of everything to keep the business running.

Elizabeth is also a retired Chemical Engineer, and now in addition to H&H she spends her time as board member of a local garden club & in her own garden, exploring DIY hobbies and crafts especially glass fusing, and doting on her grandchildren.

elizabeth

CEO | TEACHING ASSISTANT EXTRAORDINAIRE

Shop Manager

Dave & Elizabeth's older daughter Jenn has been working towards a career in art for her whole life, mostly without knowing it. After receiving her degree in (highly traditional) architecture with a concentration in furniture design, she worked in respected firms in London and Washington, DC before officially taking the leap as an artist.  

For H&H, Jenn is an all-purpose designer of both physical and digital content and a provider of strong opinions, but she is no stranger to a chisel and it should not surprise you to know that her first ever piece featured a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired veneer panel.

Jenn

The Other Heller | Designer

Over-complicator

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juried member

member since 2002
president 2008-11

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