Sure, you're familiar with NookWoodworking's high-quality handcrafted oak and mahogany floating shelves, but do you know who is behind those shelves? In our Meet the Maker series, we highlight the various employees and woodworkers that create the shelves you know and love at NookWoodworking. And what better way to kick off this series than by featuring the founder himself, David Feiger?
Don't be swayed by his devilishly good looks and easy-going personality, David is a passionate woodworker and entrepreneur. In fact, NookWoodworking is the second business he started and actually evolved from his original business, a coffee shop called Nook.
Motivated by Community, David Founded Nook in 2019
“Nook was formed from my own desire for a physical location for the Bushwick community to come and gather,” David explains, “I wanted people to have the opportunity to make friends with their neighbors while having the opportunity to do something fun or unusual. I also wanted to provide an incubation-like space for people to try new things.”
For David, this included woodworking. As contractors worked to build out the empty space that would soon become Nook, David worked alongside them and taught himself how to woodwork. Ultimately, creating most of the furniture in the beloved Bushwick coffee shop including the custom bookcases that separated the various nooks from one another, an intricate system of pulleys that allows him to effortlessly water the many plants that line the expansive windows, and his personal favorite piece of furniture - a curved wood dining table that incorporates found elements from the original 1930s construction of the building that Nook is housed in.
Despite a Global Pandemic, David Charged Onwards
Opening a cafe and craft beer shop is already a difficult feat, for David, it only became more difficult in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increasing delays in construction and opening.
Fortunately, ever the optimist, David chose to use this time to focus on woodworking. Honing his craft, he found himself drawn to the clean lines and sophisticated functionality of shelves. In 2020, NookWoodworking was officially launched on Etsy. Specializing in thoughtfully designed and exquisitely crafted shelves, lap desks, propagation stations, and serving trays, NookWoodworking soon found success on Etsy.
To meet demands, and because the Nook cafe could no longer host his woodworking tools, David began renting space in a neighborhood wood shop.
From 2020 to Today, NookWoodworking Continues to Expand
With his strong sense of entrepreneurship and business acumen, David began selling NookWoodworking’s superior floating shelves and assorted home goods off of Etsy, at NookWoodworking.com.
It’s not always easy to meet the chaotic and ever-changing demands of two growing businesses but David continues to prove himself. In 2022, he expanded NookWoodworking and moved to a larger woodshop while also hiring his first employee. Today, NookWoodworking has six employees, all skilled artisans that admire the art of woodworking as much as David himself.
As a boss, David enjoys being able to make the decisions that allow Nook and NookWoodworking to more closely align with the direction he initially envisioned. He also enjoys pushing the envelope of what NookWoodworking can offer. Recently, he introduced a unique MTA Realtime Subway Clock that stylishly combines sophisticated woodworking with novel technology to display the comings and going of major NYC subway trains in real-time.
David continues to look toward the future and dreams of one day creating a custom desk with all sorts of custom nooks and crannies. As for NookWoodworking and Nook, they’ll continue to provide incredible customer service, products, and spaces for the entire community of small business owners, freelancers, remote workers, and individuals who want to create a space that fits their personality and style.
Visit David at Nook at 45 Irving Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237, and be sure to follow the cafe on Instagram to stay up to date on all of the fun events coming up!
Or, contact us to tour the NookWoodworking woodshop at 63 Woodward Avenue to see how we make our incredible custom oak and mahogany floating shelves, trays, lap desks, and more!
