Our Story

The short version

I'm Andrew, and I make everything you see on this site by hand in a workshop in Helensville, just northwest of Auckland. Every piece is my own design, cut, assembled, and finished here. No imported stock, no mass production, no AI-generated images. What you see in the photos is exactly what arrives at your door, shot on my own camera, of the actual pieces I make.

How furnACE started

furnACE began with a simple frustration: so much of the "New Zealand" décor you find is neither made here nor particularly about here. Cheap imports with a fern stuck on them. Flat prints of birds that could have come from anywhere. I wanted to make things that genuinely belonged in a Kiwi home, real timber, real depth, and our own native birds rendered with the care they deserve.

So I built a workshop. One maker, one laser cutter, one bench. I design each piece from scratch, cut it from solid timber and quality plywood, layer it up for the shadow and depth that flat décor can never match, and hand-finish every one. My partner Diane works alongside me, she assembles the layered panels, helps run our market stalls, and is usually the second pair of eyes that tells me when something isn't quite right yet.

What makes a furnACE piece different

Real timber, not MDF kits. We work in macrocarpa, black walnut, Okoume plywood, matai, white oak, and cast acrylic, each chosen for the piece it becomes. Because it's real timber, every grain is slightly different, so no two pieces are ever identical. That variation is the point.

Layered construction. Most of our wall art is built up in layers, so light catches it and the shadows shift through the day. A flat print can't do that. It's the difference between something you glance at once and something you keep noticing.

Our own native birds. The tūī, the fantail, the morepork, the kererū, the kea, these are the birds we grew up with, and they're at the heart of nearly everything we make. The designs are original furnACE artwork, not clip-art pulled off the internet.

Built to last. Hard wax oil and clear protective finishes mean these are made to be passed down, not thrown out next season.

Real photos. Real products. No surprises.

This matters enough to say plainly: every product photo on this site is a real photograph of a real furnACE piece, taken by me. Nothing is AI-generated, nothing is a stock render, nothing is a glossy mock-up of a thing that doesn't exist. When you buy from furnACE, the piece that arrives is the piece you saw.

Custom commissions

I take on custom work, personalised engravings, one-off wall art, corporate and wedding gifts, and larger commissions. If you have something in mind, get in touch and let's talk it through.

Where we are

furnACE is based in Helensville, Auckland. You can reach me directly at andrew@furnace.nz or on 021 1499 447. If you're local, pickup can be arranged, and you'll often find us at markets around the region.

Thanks for taking the time to look. Every order genuinely matters to a small workshop like ours.

Andrew furnACE, Helensville