Edward Wohl (1942-2023) spent over half a century designing and building award-winning studio furniture, earning him a reputation as a premier American craftsman. In 1982 he built a home and wood shop in the pastoral hills of southwest Wisconsin, and in partnership with his wife Ann founded our current studio, Edward Wohl Woodworking & Design. With the help of a small team of highly-skilled craftspeople, Edward produced hundreds of pieces of custom furniture for clients across the globe.

Although he acknowledged the influence of a summer spent in the home and workshop of California woodworker Sam Maloof, Edward always pointed to long-time friend and renowned industrial designer Bill Stumpf as his primary source of learning and inspiration. “We became close friends in graduate school, and later I worked for Bill, making models and prototypes.” Bill was a pioneer in the field of ergonomics, and he encouraged Edward to pursue custom furniture rather than a corporate design job. “I was searching for a career where work and play were indistinguishable,” said Edward.

Growing up with the wood shop as his playground, Jonathan Wohl learned at an early age the satisfaction of working with his hands. After graduating from the university with a degree in interdisciplinary art and technology, Jonathan spent several years in New York City making performative and sculptural artwork with a tight-knit collective of artists. In 2016, he returned to Wisconsin to start a family of his own and to continue working with and learning from his father, joining the family business with the intention of carrying it forward into the next generation. Jonathan marries a design sense strongly influenced by his father’s work with a contemporary set of tools and techniques.