Hello, my name is Andrew Keinard and I live and have a small workshop in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I address spatial needs through conceptualization, design and building with functional pieces that are meticulously crafted. My primary medium is wood, mainly solid domestic species and high-grade veneered plywood. I have 10+ years of experience in cabinetry, furniture and prototyping.
More concise (i.e. minimal) designs; more complex the milling and building.
I love the challenge this tension presents. This is where planning and executional experience matter. Overtime, I’ve developed the practical, hands-on skills to know how to achieve the best quality results combined with the most efficient path to bring a project into reality.
My foundational trade skills came from my three year apprenticeship at a high-end custom cabinetry shop; my present day skills were developed by my personal finished carpentry, home remodel and furniture + prototype projects.
Beauty is simplicity.
One of my favorite parts of any design + build project is when the form, function and the space that it will occupy are supporting and informing the other elements; every element is in equilibrium.
What has led me to building & woodworking?
After graduating from Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) in 2008 with a BBA, I began working in finance. After several years of working in Pennsylvania then moving to California, I left the US in 2012 to travel through Central and South America. I’ll always be grateful for the time, people and experiences over that 19 months.
In 2014, I came back to the US with a better sense of who I am. Along my travels I saw the glacial recession in the Peruvian Andes and felt compelled to try to reduce C02 emissions so I worked at a Colorado-based carsharing non-profit. Though I believed in the non-profit’s mission, I couldn’t help feel a pull towards a hands-on trade.
After living in Mexico City for a bit, I returned to California in 2016 and, to reduce the economic burden, I did a work-trade program where I co-built a garden shed for a family. I was so excited waking up each day thinking about what we had to do, how to do it and then doing it. With this experience, along with a healthy dose of serendipity, I began working as an apprentice for a high-end custom cabinet maker in South Hayward, CA where I was taught the foundation of my woodworking, cabinetry and installation knowledge. Then, from 2020-2021, I had the opportunity to apply and hone those skills at two different woodworking / cabinet shops in Grand Rapids, followed by a personal home remodel project that began in 2021.
My home remodeling experience over the past 5 years has not only brought my designing, planning and building skills to another level, it has helped me hone everything needed to bring a large, complex project to successful completion with a very high degree of quality. I feel grateful for being able to take this time, what it has taught me and the unforgettable path to get the house to where it stands today.