Woodworker goes from DIY wine racks to Capital Region business
Taylor Rao
Dec. 7, 2022
Prior to buying his first house, Brian Seitz had never made a piece of furniture. At the time, his dog was his roommate, he had a steady career, and he was unimpressed with the selection and quality of the pieces he shopped for at local, big box retailers.
Rather than eat and sleep on the floor, he bought a couple of saws, collected wood from a lumber mill and got to work in his one-car garage, starting in 2016. With no woodworking experience and a little inspiration from online, in time he created what’s now known as Urban Industrial Design, a custom furniture company and wood supplier in Albany.
“I researched the type of furniture I was looking for and found other people creating it and selling it on Etsy,” Seitz said. “And I totally thought I could do that myself.”
Seitz was right. He picked up on the skills quickly, building wine racks, entertainment stands and a coffee table for his new place. When he showcased his work on social media, he received requests from friends and family to build something similar for them.
“I was already really enjoying everything I was doing, but then it clicked that this could become a business of mine,” Seitz said.
Shortly after that realization, Seitz was laid off from his senior-level position at a solar company and decided it was time to pursue his newfound passion full time. He spent six more months in his garage, getting by selling a table or two per month, and then upgraded his space from around 200 square feet to 1,200 until April 2018, allowing him to take on more projects and scale the business.
From there, Seitz’s custom furniture business continued to thrive via word of mouth. He picked up a number of residential clients — the mainstay of the business still today — as well as commercial clients looking for custom woodwork for bars, restaurants or office spaces. Seitz built up his resumé with custom projects at Druthers Brewing in Schenectady and Cantina in Saratoga Springs.
He also upgraded his workshop again – to a 5,000 square foot professional shop, their current location (though not for much longer) – a long way from his first garage setup.
“While friends and family are initially your biggest supporters, you eventually will run out of those types of leads,” said Seitz, who also attracts new clients from his Instagram page that has accumulated more than 15,000 followers. “What we offer is a truly custom, collaborative experience where homeowners can work with us to execute their vision.”
One of UID’s primary offerings is the creation of custom, residential dining room tables for as well as custom conference tables for businesses. Both furniture pieces are conversation starters, Seitz says, and many of his clients enjoy being part of the process. Seitz likes to ask upfront how much involvement they would like to have – from helping to select the materials to receiving project updates along the way.
“It’s an oddly satisfying process to watch,” said Seitz, crediting the visual part of the process to his loyal and growing social media following. “Some people like to watch these slabs of wood be made flat and straight, and see them run through machines and get joined together to create the tables.”
Dining tables start at an entry level cost of $1,950 and can work up to $10,000 based on the size and scale, Seitz says. Average production ranges from six to eight weeks, with a white-glove delivery service offered for the finished product. Conference room tables begin around $3,500, while custom commercial projects could go up to $100,000 if a client’s vision and budget allows.
When Bryan Gonyeau of Guilderland was in search of a custom dining room table, he had trouble finding a place that would accommodate the size he needed. Through a friend, he connected with Seitz and quickly got going on what he calls a “forever piece” of furniture for his home.
“The shop can do just about anything you could want, and they were super open during the design process,” said Gonyeau, who opted for a black walnut table with gray resin poured through the middle. “We were looking for something different and hadn’t splurged on anything big for our home yet. It’s functional but also an art piece.”
As Seitz’s projects continue to expand, so does his team and his business offerings. He currently employs nine people both full- and part-time. In the new year, UID will relocate once more, into a 10,000 square foot building outfitted exactly to Seitz’s liking and to fit the many functions of the operation, from milling and drying the wood, to manufacturing the tables and meeting on-site with clients.
“I purchased a piece of land and put up a new construction building designed to house us as the only tenant,” said Seitz. “It made sense financially and will allow us to operate and grow under one roof.”
Part of the space, slated to open in Schenectady in early January, includes a dedicated retail showroom, where customers can browse furniture pieces for inspiration or purchase DIY materials from hardwood slabs to epoxy finishes. Seitz’s short-term plans also include launching a furniture line with inventory of coffee tables and side tables, as well as dining tables and conference tables.
“Going custom every single time takes a while, and introducing a small furniture line will make it easier to streamline the building process and add new clientele.”
While his woodworking skill set has reached a mastery level with years of practice and experience, Seitz has developed an interest in sharing his self-taught knowledge with others. On the UID website, people can purchase tickets for a number of different classes where they can learn alongside him to create a custom furniture piece of their own.
“We intend to do quite a few of these classes in the new building,” said Seitz. “Now that we have the space to do it, we want to get people involved and provide an opportunity for me to share what I’ve learned. I’ve found a lot of joy in teaching others.”
Seitz didn’t quite know what he was building when he first started off in his one-car garage in 2016. What started as a personal desire for unique, quality furniture for his own home has turned into not only a lifelong skill, but a fulfilling business.
“I used to tag all of my products and started with 50 tags, labeling them UID 01, 02, 03…and it took me a while to get through that first set of tags,” Seitz said. “But I still have my wine rack, tag 001, in my basement today.”