Business: Ray Brents Design
Address: Naperville
Phone/website: 630-296-4245, www.raybrentsdesign.com
Owner: Ray Brents, 32, of Naperville
Years in business: Six
What does your business do? “We provide hand-crafted custom tables and furniture. My passion is tables. … We use locally sourced wood. Meyers Lumber in Batavia. Schroeder Hardwoods in Harvey. Owl Hardwood Lumber in Des Plaines every once in a while,” Brents said.
Why tables? “For me, it was always a place where family came together. Always a place where you sit down to have a meal, play games. It’s a multipurpose space. Dinner. Lunch.”
Why did you start this business? “I just wanted to build things on my own. I always liked working with my hands. I started the business in 2018, started doing things on my own in 2016. … I had been working in insurance. …As a kid, I used to play with Koul Tools, my mom got them for me, and Legos.
“When I was in high school (in Indianapolis), I realized you have to build things to build things. For instance, the scaffolding needed to build a building. With woodwork, you have to build jigs.”
How’s business? “It’s going pretty well. Locally mostly. I have business from Naperville, Oswego and Aurora. Some in Indianapolis. I got my first international sale a couple months ago in West Essex, London, a small walnut side table.”
How does the process work? “Someone will contact me through my email. I ask for an inspirational photo. Something online catches their eye. They send me what they want to spend, further details, and I hop on a phone call with them about what their vision is.”
Which wood is your favorite to work with? “Walnut. It’s very rich and it smells incredible. … It’s a darker wood. This is one of the hardest domestic woods you’re going to find. Mahogany is the hardest. You have your oaks. And hard maple is a hard piece.”
Do you suggest harder wood for more durability? “Yes. Very much so. I started out using construction grade lumber from Lowe’s, Home Depot. It was easily available. Quick. … If I had a piece of pine I could make an indentation with a fingernail. Can’t do that with walnut.”
Do you stockpile wood? “No. I get it as I need it.”
What do you like about this job? “It gets the artistic side out of me. … I like getting a raw piece of wood and creating functional furniture out of it. The process of that. All the little steps that go into it.”
Any negatives? “Sometimes in a build, there are times you have to step back and think about the next steps, the design aspect.”
Do you ever make an oval table? “I make circle tables.”
What other furniture do you make? “I just built a large book stand. That was a very unique project for me. The most creative I’ve ever been. A lot of math goes into this, geometry, fractions, decimals.”
Have you made any chairs? “Not chairs. Not yet. I’ll get there. … Bookshelves, tables, all kinds of tables, coffee tables.”
Is there a busy time of year? “September. The months before Christmas. And April. After taxes. People get a little spike (of money).”
How long does it take to make a table? “If I’m working on it full time, probably three weeks. But customers should expect six to eight weeks because I’m working on other things.”
What do people not know about your job? “It’s hard to cut through a knot. They’re tough to get through. It’s tight wood. Usually, it’s where branches grow out of a trunk. … A joint that’s glued is stronger than the wood itself.”
Do you have competition? “Competition is the big box stores. Ikea. Quick, cheap furniture. A lot of people don’t understand or haven’t bought handmade furniture. … You can’t match a big box store price. My prices will be three times that, at least.”
Any favorite stories? “People have sent me photos of their entire family at a table I created.”
Any future plans? “I’d like to have my own workshop. I want to grow (the business) locally. Maybe hire an assistant I can teach.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “You have to push yourself. You have to get out of your comfort zone. … Just start. Don’t think you need to have everything to get started. I started with one saw and a couple drills.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
