Laura Mays

Laura Mays is a woodworker and furniture designer living in Fort Bragg, California. Originally from Ireland, Mays has alternated between her home country and Northern California throughout her educational and professional career. Mays utilizes local, sustainable materials and prides herself on “using skill, technique, knowledge of materials, and care to make functional things.” Her work is characterized by clean lines, simple yet dynamic forms, archetypal stylistic references, and hand-burnished finishes. She favors traditional joinery, highlighting the technical precision and structural integrity of her work. Mays has directed the fine woodworking program at the College of the Redwoods since 2011. She frequently collaborates with her partner, Rebecca Yaffe, on the furniture design endeavor Yaffe Mays. 

Laura Mays, Facet Boxes, 2013. History and process are integral to the end product for Mays, whose designs assert their constructive elements. Each dovetailed box in this series of six has a unique arrangement of facets planed into it that add to the complexity of the structure.