Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Martin Goebel believes that furniture design is about creating pieces that people will interact with on an intimate level. “You may not remember your grandma’s cabinetry, but you’ll remember her favorite rocking chair, or gathering with your family at the dining room table,” he says. “The furniture you interact with creates the experiences that I’d like to help facilitate.”
“We take stone, metal, wood and merge them,” he says. “It takes anywhere from 3 to 24 months to create one piece,” he says.
After working around the country and earning a master’s degree in furniture and product design at the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Goebel, 34, returned to St. Louis and opened the design shop, Goebel & Co. Furniture, in 2011. Working out of midtown, he and a team of skilled craftsmen create heirloom-quality tables, chairs, and other furnishings for residential clients, as well as commercial pieces for such businesses as Urban Chestnut Brewery, Washington University, and Companion Bakery.
Cherrywood, walnut, white oak, and white pine are harvested from raw stock and recycled from timber found in parks and at construction sites, and recovered after storms. Goebel also sources materials from metalworkers and manufacturers located within 50 miles of his shop.
“We take stone, metal, wood and merge them,” he says. “It takes anywhere from 3 to 24 months to create one piece,” he says.
Using simple designs, Goebel and his team combine styles to produce pieces that fit a range of lifestyles. “We like clean designs that allow people to breathe,” he says.
