Our first wood collection

Looking back on June 2026 · written in 2026

Hi friends, Maisy here.

In June, we finally shared our first Wood Collection. I'd been imagining pieces like these since I was designing my own work-from-home desk, so seeing the shelf, book stand and tray together felt like a big moment for us. Honestly, I was surprised by how many of you showed up for the launch. Thank you for being excited about something we'd spent so long working toward.

Getting ready to share something new

It had been a while since a launch like this, and I felt nervous about putting something new out there. Moving into our studio at the beginning of 2025 was exciting, but it also took time to settle in. I wanted to feel comfortable creating here, rather than rush into the next project just because we finally had the space.

We spent over a year making the studio somewhere we enjoyed being. I slowed down, took care of myself and gave us time to live in it. Looking back, I'm glad we had that time before sharing this collection. I talked more about that in this video, if you'd like to hear the longer version.

What we brought into the collection

Asian design was a big part of the inspiration, and working on these pieces gave us a way to explore that connection through something we could make together. The book stand was especially personal: it began with one my mom had as a girl in Hong Kong. I wanted to bring that family piece into the spaces we live in now.

When we were choosing the woods, Tristan said something that stayed with me: “We are all from the same tree.” I liked having that thought alongside a collection we were making as a family.

The Zen Book Stand became our version of that childhood book stand, with a wedged joint holding it together without screws or glue. We chose contrasting woods for the wedges so you can see how it fits together, rather than hiding that detail.

The Zen Desk Shelf takes its shape from a torii gate. It's made from solid maple, with dividers you can move to suit the things you keep underneath. I'd lived with desk-shelf ideas in my own setup for a long time, so it was lovely to finally share one with you.

The Zen Tray was our way of taking the setup beyond the desk. It's inspired by the Korean soban, a small portable dining table, and I wrote a separate letter about designing it if you'd like to read more.

The summer after the launch

Then came the work of making your orders. We used maple, cherry, white oak and walnut across the collection, sourced from a local lumber yard. There were parts to cut, surfaces to sand, and pieces to oil, engrave and number. A lot of our summer was spent working through those batches together.

There's something a little vulnerable about sharing a design that's been in your head for so long. Until you put it out there, you don't know whether someone else will see what you see in it. Getting to make these pieces for your homes was a lovely answer to that uncertainty.

Thank you for being part of this first collection. I'm proud of what we made together, and I'm glad those ideas didn't stay on my desk.

Maisy

From our family, to yours.