Community Highlights: Meet Austin McAdams of Austin McAdams Design & Fabrication INC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin McAdams.

Hi Austin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Richmond VA. SinceI was 16 I have spent the last 24 years doing wood work as a hobbyist, academic and professional. I received a BFA in Furniture Design/ Woodwork and a minor in Sculpture from VCU in my hometown. I moved to San Diego in 2012 to work on my MFA for Furniture Design/Woodwork at San Diego State. This gave me a unique experience learning about furniture as a Fine Art rather than a product. After the program, I decided to stay in San Diego and see what living out west had to offer me. I rented a small shop space near the school and began trying to drum up any commission I could. For the first few years furniture commissions were few and far between so I mostly worked behind various bars to pay the rent.

After several years of this I decided to leave bartending to pursue a lesser paying job working for other fabricators in town to get a foot hold in the industry. This large pay cut was the best decision for me. I worked harder to find commissions that I had to build nights and weekends to pay the bills my 9-5 did not. I began making all kinds of contacts in the industry and I quickly gained traction getting jobs from custom furniture to full restaurant millwork jobs.

I have met and worked with a lot of talented makers and designers the last few years. I now share a large shop with a few of those makers and designers in Barrio Logan. I have gone from working a lone to having a few employees this past year. We work on high-end custom furnishings, custom commercial millwork and residential cabinetry. I also spend the time in between designing my own line of furnishings that will slowly be released in the near future.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I has not been a smooth road. Financial challenges have been one of the hardest. I do not have family resources to help me along the way. I moved to San Diego alone and with no savings. It took a lot of time to get the money for machines and to build a network of clients and friends.

We’ve been impressed with Austin McAdams Design & Fabrication INC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our main focus is wood but we are not limited to. We do not do much of the live edge slab table-type jobs. There are plenty of woodworkers in town for that. Mostly we are passionate about and enjoy making custom furniture for clients. Second in line is doing millwork on commercial spaces like restaurants. We have a C-6 Millwork Contractors license. Insured and bonded.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like exploring the outdoors when my work lets me. Living in San Diego puts me in close proximity so many different landscapes to explore. What I like least? Well the fact you cannot buy a decent house under $500K of course.

Contact Info:

• Email: Austin@austinmcadamsdesign.com
• Website: Www.austinmcadamsdesign.com
• Instagram: /austinmcadamsdesign