I was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. I worked my way up in the restaurant business, eventually becoming a pastry chef. My work as a pastry chef combined the elements of art and function together into my desserts. I moved to Whitefish, Montana in 1992. I started woodworking in 2000 and it quickly became a passion for me. As with desserts, my furniture is also both function and art. I work out of a 720 square foot shop and all elements of the design and build process are done by myself. My first and strongest belief is that a piece of furniture should be designed around the wood itself, focusing on the natural color and grain of the wood. Each piece of furniture I build is designed with a computer CAD program to the exact specifications required for that piece. All wood is hand selected per project to ensure consistent color, grain, pattern and moisture content. I am constantly searching for unique pieces of wood with one of a kind grain and patterns that I can eventually find just the right use for. Most of my finishes are clear finishes to bring out the natural beauty of the wood itself. I very rarely use stains as I believe that the desired color should be in the wood itself. With certain figured woods, I will use tinted oils to highlight the grain. I thank you for looking at my website and hope that one of a kind piece you are looking for is just an e-mail away.
Philip Pontillo
