For artist Robert Seliger, a piece of furniture doesn’t start in his studio. Before even beginning the process of sculpting the wood into his trademark sweeps and curves, a design has been alive in his mind for weeks. Some ideas, like his award-winning War Vest Sofa Table, come from vivid dreams. Others stem from nature, like his Sidewinder Table, inspired by

Since being “discovered” at the Western Design Conference last year, Seliger’s work has been in high demand. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and it’s the first contest I’ve ever entered in my life, and I won the highest honor in my field,” he says. “I am a professional artist, a master woodworker, and I have an architectural background.

Robert Seliger, woodworker and custom furniture designer, produces quality, hand-carved, artistic pieces of furniture at his shop in Tumalo. Each piece showcases Seliger’s love for curved lines and attention to detail, tendencies which are a product of his background in architectural design, cabinetry and home building.

In a world overrun by expendable, mass-produced tables and chairs, a piece of hand-crafted furniture offers an enduring experience and the opportunity to buy locally and sustainably. Here in Oregon, a cult of ambitious, talented craftsmen offer a range of designs that look like art, act like furniture, and stand up admirably to time.

Custom-furniture maker Robert Seliger, a humble and soft-spoken wood craftsman, lets the beauty and quality of his handmade furniture speak for his national reputation for fine workmanship. The Colorado native, who moved to a Tumalo ranch in 1990, produces between 200 to 300 pieces of furniture each year from his converted horse-barn workshop that offers a commanding view of the