WODENSTEL - UNIQUE BY DESIGN
WodenStel comes from the name of its founder, Tom Wodehouse, and draws on ancient words associated with woods or wild places, and steel — wode and stel.
The business is deliberately lean and adaptable, built around the work rather than around maintaining a large permanent operation. Tom keeps the core of each project close to him, bringing in specialist manufacturing and processes where they are needed.
WodenStel IS AN INDEPENDENT PRACTICE SPECIALISING IN THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF BESPOKE STEEL KITCHENS, JOINERY AND FURNITURE
AN UNCONVENTIONAL PATH
Tom's experience spans engineering, design, manufacturing and project management, with a practical understanding of materials and how things are made.
His early interest in engineering led him to study the subject at university. He went on to restore classic cars, developing a strong grounding in tools, materials and workshop processes.
He subsequently spent several years working in sales and marketing, where he gained considerable experience in working with customers, understanding their requirements and managing projects.
During this time, Tom and his wife undertook the conversion of a barn, with Tom designing the entire property in SketchUp and project managing the work with the contractors. The experience reminded him how much he enjoyed designing, solving practical problems and seeing ideas take shape, and made him realise that he needed to change course and pursue a more creative, design-led career.
Steel Vintage
A few years later, Tom saw a job advertised for a furniture designer at Steel Vintage, a bespoke furniture manufacturer close to his home.
“I knew my CV would not get me in the door, but this felt like one of those opportunities that I absolutely could not miss. I left nothing to chance and CAD designed a complete table, presenting the owners with a full pack of drawings and manufacturing specifications.”
He took the drawings to the workshop and knocked on the door.
They gave him a chance.
Tom joined Steel Vintage as a junior designer. Within two years he was managing the design team, and subsequently took responsibility for project management and production. By the end of his time there, he was the company's most senior member of staff, with responsibility spanning design, project management and manufacturing.
Experience
During his time at Steel Vintage, Tom worked across a wide range of bespoke projects, from kitchens and furniture to commercial interiors and specialist storage. The work varied considerably in scale and purpose, giving him experience in developing designs for individual pieces as well as larger projects involving multiple components and trades.
Tom was responsible for developing detailed designs and components in CAD, resolving construction and manufacturing details and working with the workshop and suppliers to turn designs into finished pieces. This practical involvement gave him a detailed understanding of how bespoke work needs to be developed, manufactured and managed.
His work included a kitchen and other bespoke pieces in New York for All Star Woodworking, a London kitchen featured in Marie Claire Maison Italia, a complete office refit for Cloud Imperium Games incorporating custom height-adjustable desk modules, and bespoke storage for the UK headquarters of Rolex.
The projects required him to work with different materials, manufacturing processes and spaces, often coordinating several elements to create a coherent finished result. This experience now underpins the way Tom approaches projects through WodenStel, combining design with a practical understanding of how the finished piece will be made and used.
wodenstel
By this point, Tom had gained considerable experience at Steel Vintage, but he was working within an established design language. He wanted to see what he could do with that experience on his own terms.
“The reason was simple. I wanted to do something I loved, in the way I wanted it to be done.”
WodenStel brings together Tom's experience in design, manufacturing and project management. Steel kitchens became the starting point, drawing on his experience in sheet-metal design and manufacturing. They remain an important part of WodenStel's work, but the same approach extends to furniture, storage, interiors and individual commissions.
The structure of WodenStel allows each project to be approached on its own terms, using the most appropriate combination of in-house skills and specialist manufacturing. Tom retains control of the design, project management, finishing, assembly and quality control.
Where a project requires specialist manufacturing or processes that are better carried out elsewhere, these are entrusted to carefully selected UK suppliers and managed to the same standards. When you commission WodenStel, you work directly with Tom from the first conversation through to the finished piece.
design and manufacture
Design and manufacturing are closely connected at WodenStel.
Tom's practical understanding of materials and manufacturing means that construction is considered as part of the design from the beginning, rather than something resolved afterwards.
Detailed CAD development allows the design to be worked through before anything is made — from how individual components fit together to how the piece will be assembled, finished and used.
“For me, CAD design is about creating beautiful, elegant solutions that take every variable into account and leave nothing to chance. By the time a design reaches the workshop, every detail should be resolved and understood.”
Tom carries out the design and project management himself. Manufacturing is handled through trusted UK suppliers, while Tom personally checks, finishes, assembles and makes any final adjustments before the piece leaves the workshop.