Jean Athey was born in Michigan and raised in California, where she learned woodworking from her father and grandfather in their garage/basement workshops. She and her husband, Tom, now reside in Avila Beach, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

After twenty years in the corporate world and another decade teaching management information systems at the university level, this award-winning artist retired to pursue her passion for designing and building sophisticated contemporary studio furniture. Along the way, she studied woodcarving under famed British wood sculptor Ian Norbury and Canadian figure carver Joe Dampf.  She took woodshop classes to hone her joinery and finishing skills, all the while designing and carving wood sculptures that garnered first place ribbons in numerous juried competitions. The combination of carving and woodworking in the form of fine hardwood art furniture was the next logical step.

"I strive to craft contemporary studio furniture that enhances the homes of those who celebrate nature in their environment," she says. "I want my pieces to settle into these homes as if they were made expressly for the very niche they'll occupy."  

In her designs, Jean combines comfortable elegance, classic lines, and warm complementary woods to evoke the ambiance of California's coastal and grape-growing regions. Depicting images ranging from Monterey's famed cypress trees to the ocean's bounty, her designs grace the homes of her customers with warm rays of California sunshine.