Meet Chris Arredondo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Arredondo.

Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
For the last 20 years, I’ve worked in the live music industry both as a musician and on the production side. Unfortunately, this industry took a gigantic hit when Covid-19 came around. Not knowing how long it would be until I would be able to tour again, I needed to find something to keep me busy. My wife brought up the idea of getting a new coffee table for our house to which I said “I’ll just build one.”

And that’s how it started. After posting a pic of our new coffee table on social media, I started to get messages from friends asking about building pieces for them. I would build what they wanted, they would post pics on their social media and then I started to get more and more orders. My love for woodworking took over when my love for music was unexpectedly put on hold. As broken as I was when all of my upcoming tours got canceled, I am incredibly happy with where I am now.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
At the beginning, the biggest struggle was not having all the tools I needed to get going. I have a couple of friends that I owe a lot to for letting me use their shops and tools whenever I wanted. I would never have gotten to where I am now without their help. For the most part, it has been a relatively smooth road. I began building and creating and found that others appreciate my work. I’m truly lucky,

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work with each client to design and build exactly what they are looking for. I describe my work as modern, custom and handcrafted. As of now, I have three collections: The Strummer Collection is my mid-century modern home furnishings collection. These pieces have a simple/modern design to them. The Burritt Way Collection is my recording studio specific collection. Custom console desks, amp racks and amplifier cabinets. The Rose City Collection is reserved for custom pieces that don’t fit into my other two collections. Here you will find everything from vinyl record cabinets to garden benches to guitar stands. My most known pieces are the coffee tables from the Strummer Collection and my vinyl record cabinets from the Rose City Collection. But I am most proud of a piece that I am currently working on, a custom console desk for a recording studio which is part of the Burritt Way Collection.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Custom woodworking will always be around. I don’t see any giant shifts happening in the industry, but as for trends, I believe that people are taking a much more artistic and creative approach to their home decor. Your home is supposed to be an extension of yourself, and with people spending much more time at home these days, I feel they are finding the importance of surrounding themselves with a comfortable and inspirational retreat.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: carthuroriginals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carthuroriginals/

Image Credits:
Photo Credits : Sam Muro, Susan Mazalewski, Leila Margolis, Nora Flanagan