Crespi Woodworking Company Profile

rowing up in Brooklyn, the owner of Crespi Woodworking thought about being an astronaut or a scientist. Today, living in Petaluma, California, Aaron Crespi has shed those childhood ambitions, but he retains a hint of the accent and a no-nonsense east-coast sensibility. Aaron Crespi came to California as a young man and fell in with boat-makers, sculptors, and assorted other artistic types. Their influence informs his work today as a maker of well-designed, finely-wrought furniture, cabinets and beautiful hand-made things.

"I try to let the materials influence what's being built," says Aaron, talking about his design style. He's reluctant to be categorized as a modern or contemporary builder "I can build in any vernacular." Indeed, the "Crespiland" website shows a wide variety of styles. Crespi Woodworking has created unique pieces for the Presidio Social Club in San Francisco and Della Fattoria in Petaluma. All varieties of domestic and exotic solid and fine veneer wood are handled at Crespi Woodworking with reverence.

Functional Art
Crespi Woodworking is in demand for its elegance and beauty, combined with a fine-art feel. Aaron Crespi likes to work with clients that appreciate the artistry of hand-made furniture, irrespective of their price point. "Most people recognize that the value is greater for an individually-made piece of furniture; most everything on the market except the very lowest-quality pieces will be comparable in price." Don't avoid a custom builder because you're worried that your kids will jump on it; what Aaron Crespi creates, though stunningly beautiful, is meant to be functional and appropriate for everyday use. His cabinetry, beds, bookcases, built-ins and tables are for real people living real lives.

Environmentalism and Living Environments
"There is a real gray area between the realms of cabinetry, furniture making, and architectural design" said Aaron of the difficulty of naming his occupation and passion. He creates environments for graceful living with his woodwork. Sometimes that means the perfectly made custom table or desk, such as those he has made for the Inn Above the Tides in Sausalito, or the Transportation Library at UC Berkeley; sometimes that means transforming a backyard chicken coop into a charming get-away cottage.

Although renovations and remodels are not Aaron's stock-in-trade, they seem to engage all of his best skills and capture his brilliance at creating new environments from wood. Witness his devotion to a bamboo hut in Jamaica that he built and owned for 11 years, the D Street renovation project (chronicled on the Crespiland website), or the Howard's End Cottage (also on the Crespiland website).

Hand-Logged Lumber
Wherever possible, Crespi Woodworking uses hand-logged lumber. Hand-logged means that the wood is harvested without clear-cutting or replanting. Individual trees slated for felling for a variety of reasons are harvested and milled, providing a source of wood that does not harm forests at all. Think of a storm-damaged tree in a neighborhood, or a disease-tainted tree with salvageable wood. Salvaged wood and recycled products are used whenever feasible, but never at the expense of quality or beauty.

If you have dreamed of a hand-made table, beautiful custom cabinets in your kitchen or bathroom or any other piece tailored to your home, your taste or lifestyle, give Aaron Crespi at Crespi Woodworking a call. He will work with you to create the perfect, stunning furniture or cabinet piece of your dreams.


---Genevieve Albers
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report