Rob Hetler Furnituremaker- About Rob Hetler

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Vision, Design, and Craft

Rob Hetler brings a lifetime of hand craftsmanship and an artist’s eye to the fine casework and furniture he builds in his shop on Whidbey Island in Washington State. Through thoughtful design and skilled execution, Rob expresses his passion for aesthetically beautiful woodwork that creates a sense of harmony, completeness, excellence and intrigue.

A self-confessed “wood hound,” Rob uses the finest domestic materials and is fascinated by the constellation of relationships inherent in the material of wood: the relationship between the tree and history, between the craftsman’s tools and the wood’s surface, and between the finished objects and the clients who live with them for a lifetime.

Rob’s ongoing tactile conversation with wood translates into simple, elegant objects with smooth, radiant surfaces, well-fitted joints, and artful details. His commissioned work includes projects of every scale, from jewelry cases and a monk’s meditation box to tables and bedroom sets, to fully installed kitchens and libraries. At every scale, he seeks to create one-of-a-kind work that expresses artistic vision and expert craftsmanship.

Rob cultivates warm relationships with his clients and enjoys collaborating with them through the evolution of a project. His Greenbank shop is often open to the public and always open to clients with an interest in the furniture making process.

“I have always believed that when everything in a project is in harmony, even if a viewer is unknowledgeable about woodworking, they will be calmed in the presence of such work. They instinctively know that this is something of value. There is quality, even if they cannot define it.”
– Rob Hetler

Biography

Rob Hetler is a self-taught furniture maker who draws on his art training in ceramics and sculpture at SUNY Brockport, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of Washington. His mentors include James Krenov, George Nakashima, Wedle Castle, and potter Bernard Leach.

In 1982, Rob and his wife immigrated to Israel, where he began his journey into woodworking and fine cabinetry. While working there as a carpenter and contractor, Rob became involved in a construction project which required the construction of cabinetry and a staircase. He’s been a furniture maker ever since.

In 1987, Rob moved with his wife and two children to Whidbey Island, and has been working from his current shop in Greenbank since 1998. A member of the Whidbey Island Woodworkers Guild, Rob enjoys volunteering in the community and sharing knowledge with other woodworkers.