About me

My story

Since 1991 living in Hawaii

Mats Fogelvik, born in Sweden 1959. Designer/artist and woodworker. In 1987, I attended an art and furniture making school in Stockholm, and worked as a teacher for wood shop classes during 1988. My world adventures landed me on Maui in 1991, since then I have been a full time woodworker and furniture maker.

We still have a living tradition of woodworking in Sweden, and I was surrounded by old and new furniture in my youth. I have a rich inspirational source to draw from in the Scandinavian heritage and traditions. I am attracted to simplicity, beauty and function in a form. I believe a lot of furniture nowadays is “over designed”. There is a fine balance between beauty, function and sculptural value in a piece, and I am not afraid of using old well proven designs in my work, to achieve that. It doesn’t take much of a change, or detailing, to add the “personal touch” to a piece. Too much, and the balance is thrown off.

My goal is to create pieces with a “one of a kind quality”, and at the same time the customer will be able to recognize and connect with the piece, on a very emotional level. I believe wood is a living material, and I am excited about bringing out the soul within, to make the wood express itself to you. Listen carefully, and you will hear my furniture speak to you!

Featured in "Art Maui" 1998 , 1999 , 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2006
HFIA's "Woods of Hawaii" 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 ,2006 , 2007, 2008, 2009 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018
Hawaii Craftsmen State Wide juried Exhibition 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and 2010
Maui Woodworkers Guild, "Inspired Hands" 2002 , 2003 and 2006
Featured in HGTV's "Modern Masters", episode #911
Featured in "A Custom Furniture Source Book", Taunton Press
Featured in "Contemporary Hawaii Woodworkers"
Part of "Roots of Inspiration" , an invitational furniture show.

A fun educational video, how to sharpen a pencil