Meyer Wood Studio

Ryan Meyer
Sabetha, KS

I have a love for all things wood which began as a young boy in my father’s woodworking shop in Northeast Kansas. I bought my first lathe at 16 and have been turning and building custom wood items ever since. Projects ranged from wooden toys, to bedroom furniture, a roll top desk, kitchen tables, lazy susan’s for the tables, segmented bowls, oil lanterns with turned bases for our wedding reception tables (décor and gifts to those who helped make our day special), and requested custom furniture. All of my bowls are turned from trees salvaged from the local city’s tree dump or family and friends’ dead or dying trees. I prefer taking a piece of wood, starting to turn it, and then shaping the bowl to get the most beauty out of the wood.

After graduating high school, I began work in the construction industry. A year later my brother and I started our own construction company building custom homes and commercial buildings. My specialty was the finish work in custom homes. A curved staircase, custom designs in hardwood flooring, custom library shelves, fireplace mantels, and the interior doors in my own home were some of my favorite projects.

As that profession began to take its toll on my body after 22 years, I closed the construction business and joined two brothers in owning and operating a concrete ready mix facility. After 11 years, the desire to get back into the wood shop and creative world strongly pulled me back. I returned to custom finish work and dusted the cobwebs out of the woodworking shop.