Our Story

I guess you could say that the story of Cannery Camp begins back in the 1950s in a wood shop in the heart of Queens, NY. 

My grandfather was the owner and operator of Thomas J. White Jr. & Co. Wood and Metal Patterns, a workshop dedicated to producing wood and metal patterns for industrial applications such as ship propellers and engine gears.

I never had the privilege of meeting my grandfather, he died before I was born. For a long time I only knew his memory through stories, pictures, and old tools, a lot of old tools.

That all changed about two years ago when I quit my consulting career to chase down a lifelong dream of woodworking professionally. The stories, pictures and tools that my grandfather had left behind took on new life. I could smell the sawdust in the pictures, I could appreciate the complexities of his craft, and I could quite literally use the same tools he held so many years before. 

Leaving behind a “steady corporate career” to pursue a passion like woodworking is a scary thing, but I always found ease because, as Hank Williams Jr. would say, I was just carrying on an ol’ family tradition.

Cannery Camp is proud of and committed to this tradition. We believe in the tradition of true furniture making, building by hand in a workshop as opposed to computerized machines in a factory. We believe in the tradition of using real American hardwoods that have been sustainably forested, as opposed to unnatural, engineered materials like plywood. Finally, we believe in the tradition of the American craftsman, a tradition my grandfather and so many others built a life around. 

I hope one of our hand made pieces finds its way from our shop in Brooklyn, NY into your home, and I hope it adds a distinct accent with its natural hardwood character and the story behind how it was made.

And if our furniture and the American craftsman tradition isn’t something that interests you, that’s all right too, just don’t mind us, it's an ol’ family tradition.

-John White

 Founder + Furniture Maker