Meet Alex Deutschman of Maneuverworks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Deutschman.

Alex, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in an environment that promoted creativity and getting your hands dirty. Art was something I came to appreciate early on and started painting when I was pretty young. I was also always enamored by the technical nature of machines and buildings. Often to the chagrin of my father, I would disassemble and attempt to reassemble my bicycles and eventually cars to understand better the inner workings. This was before YouTube, so there was a lot of guessing and more often than not some leftover parts…

In high school, I realized I wanted to pursue a career in design, so I ended up at Georgia Tech where I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degree in architecture. It seems strange now, but while I was an undergrad, everything was still done by hand. I had a drafting table with a mayline, we drew with lead or ink – you had to be an artist and an architect. By the time I was in grad school, this was all gone, but I was focused on continuing with an analog approach to my projects. I spent a lot of time in the workshop, developing fabrication skills that would eventually pave the way for my professional endeavors.

After school, I landed a gig with Morphosis, running their in-house fabrication shop for 3 years. In addition to the hundreds, if not thousands, of models and prototypes, I learned how to build furniture and full-scale architectural components. This continued over the next few years through various other contract jobs before I got the nerve to start Maneuverworks in 2013, designing and making furniture in my garage.

Somehow, I was able to string together enough commissions to start constructing a real business; before long I had a small team and moved into a large enough shop to handle multiple projects at once. Then we started getting larger, more complicated projects that forced us to figure out what we could handle. There were some ups and downs, but after nearly 5 years we have come a long way and are now looking for new challenges.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ironically the easiest part has been getting the work, at least so far. I have a pretty solid network of friends in the design industry that need a good fabricator and someone who understands design. I’ve been very fortunate to have a consistent flow of projects since the beginning.

The hardest part for me has been the business side of things. Specifically, time management and where my attention is best focused. Sometimes it comes down to what needs to be done versus what I want to do.

One thing that has been very enlightening is finding out what I’m really made of by getting through the many challenges I face and will continue to face. There are times when you’re forced to really question your fundamental ethics, whether dealing with a client or an unrealistic deadline – sometimes you have to dig deep!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Maneuverworks – what should we know?
Maneuverworks is a design and fabrication workshop consisting of a small team of craftsmen and designers. Combining diverse backgrounds into an interdisciplinary practice, we provide services from concept design and prototyping all the way to finished built product. Our portfolio of work includes high-end custom furniture to full interior retail build-outs and exterior architectural installations.

Our ability to work with clients and outside designers on both the design and fabrication scope of any given project has enabled us to increase our value as a company. We have developed a hybrid expertise with a strong ambition to achieve what others can’t/won’t approach. It is our determination to innovate and be clever on our feet that sets us apart from our competition.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Honesty. They say dirty hands equals clean money; there is no way to fake it. I’ve had to do the work to get where I’m at, and I can sleep well knowing I did it without having to deceive anyone.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1327 W 12th Pl
  Los Angeles, CA 90015
• Website: www.maneuverworks.com
• Phone: 310-775-5399
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maneuverworks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Maneuverworks
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/maneuverworks-los-angeles

Image Credit:
Todd Swanson
Michael David Rose Photography

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