How A Third-Generation Artisan Crafts One-Of-A-Kind Furnishings
For Cody Campanie, woodworking is a family affair. The Portland furniture maker is a third-generation artisan, hailing from upstate New York where he grew up with a woodworker father and a host of artists, writers and photographers in his extended family. Now, with his studio Campagna, Campanie crafts one-of-a-kind furniture pieces as well as collections for brands like Design Within Reach and Roll & Hill. We talked with Campanie about his past, present and future.
How did you get started in woodworking?
My background is in architecture, but I grew increasingly interested in how things are actually made. I wanted to close the gap between idea and execution and saw furniture as the perfect scale to do that. I love that you can bring a piece from concept to finished product with your own hands.
What was it like growing up in an artistic family?
I grew up on a few acres of land with a garden and a forest next door. Tinkering and resourcefulness were how people in my family moved through the world. Some of my earliest memories are sitting around our kitchen table looking for faces and patterns in the pieces of wood my dad brought up from his basement shop. That curiosity—the idea that objects can carry personality, memory and meaning—stuck with me.
Tell us about your inspirations.
My work is rooted in those early lessons from my family: to look closely, to trust my instincts, to try something different even if it might fail. I also keep a large album of photographs from my travels, which is a library I return to constantly. Sometimes it’s a very specific detail: a gutter in Kanazawa, Japan, the windows on a small church in Athens, Greece. Other times, it’s more about atmosphere.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I have a few conceptual pieces in the works that feel like a return to my early interests: geometry, reflection and ritual. One is a mirror inspired by the niches at the Villa d’Este outside Rome. I’m also allowing myself more room for experimentation. Sometimes the most exciting ideas come from not knowing exactly where you’re headed.
