Joseph Murphy Furniture Maker

About Joseph Murphy Furniture Maker

Joseph Murphy Furniture Maker operates from Madison, Wisconsin, where founder Joe Murphy designs and builds custom furniture. Murphy, a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, worked as an engineer at a local manufacturing company before woodworking became his full-time pursuit. He traces the start of his practice to the wood shop at that employer, where he immersed himself in the writings of James Krenov and Japanese tool catalogs before launching his own studio. The shop produces one-off and small-batch pieces including dining tables, media cabinets, benches, desks, and shadow boxes. Murphy’s process blends traditional hand-tool techniques with modern aids such as a Festool Domino joiner and a Shaper Origin CNC router. Work is carried out in a solo workshop; no facility size or employee count is disclosed, and output is measured in individual commissions rather than volume runs. Clients are primarily residential customers in the Madison area, as reflected in testimonials from homeowners who commissioned dining nooks, display cabinets, and campaign-button shadow boxes. Murphy’s work has also reached a broader audience through features in Fine Woodworking, Apartment Therapy, and Brava Magazine, and through exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (where he won the Wharton Esherick Museum prize), the Architectural Digest MADE show in New York, and Madison’s Art Fair on the Square. Murphy cites his engineering background as a foundation for functional, proportion-driven design. He describes his goal as creating furniture that acts like a “great companion”—pieces with pleasing proportions, subtle curves, and tactile surfaces intended to last for generations rather than follow trends.

Equipment

• Festool Domino Joiner
• Shaper Origin

Company details

Location

Madison, Wisconsin

Company type

Manufacturer

Listed under

• Furniture & Woodworking Manufacturers in Wisconsin

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