These Home Furnishings Are A Modern Minimalist's Dream

Like many young creatives, Ben Hanisch headed west after high school in the Chicago suburbs, seeking adventure and work. He landed at a photography studio in Salt Lake City, where he convinced the owner to let him renovate his vacant warehouse building into a livable two-story unit. To fill the place with furnishings, Hanisch made built-ins, vanities and doors from salvaged wood. “People realized I had an eye for it,” he says, and he’s been making custom pieces ever since.

As the founder of Last Workshop, Hanisch creates coffee tables, dining tables, credenzas and more out of his studio on the West Side. “We make contemporary pieces that lean toward a clean, natural, modern and minimal aesthetic,” he says. He often introduces new furnishings after trying them out at home first. “Whenever a piece is desired for my personal home, or for my family’s, it gives me the opportunity and inspiration to make something new,” he shares. “It’s a fun process to live with them first.” His custom designs are showcased alongside vintage pieces he sells through Last Gallery, a sister business he created to sate his appetite for collecting modern design. “I’m attracted to the midcentury classics, sculptural pieces and a lot of Scandinavian design,” he says. “It has been really fun to see how our own designs mix in with the aesthetic of the vintage pieces.”