Tristan Warner Tristan Warner Studios
In the small suburb of Madison, Tennessee, Tristan Warner’s most recent project is his very own house built from the remains of an old, abandoned cabin. The duration of this project took place during the rainy season, while Tristan and his wife resided in a tent in the backyard. Everything from the cabinets to the doors, to the custom murphy bed, was all designed and hand-crafted by Tristan.
Although Tristan’s business was growing in New York City, he gladly left to build his own life and settle down. Upon completion of the house, he married his wife on the property, and his studio has since taken off.
Although he went to school for political science, his passion lied in what he learned as a kid from his father’s tiling and masonry business. The seed that his career sprouted from was actually falsified. Tristan lied his way into his first carpentry job in NYC and learned from there. From merely watching well-seasoned carpenters, he excelled to the top of his field and became a supervisor. Tristan didn’t like standing idly by and watching over others, he wanted to be working hands-on and creating things himself. This desire accumulated into him creating his own studio that began by producing custom furniture and grew into a full-fledged carpentry business realizing architectural spaces around New York.
Tristan has an appreciation for the simplicities of life, and that shows through his work. Inspired by the purpose and minimalism of shaker style furniture, Tristan’s work is unique, and every piece of wood is carved with intention.
Inspired by Tristan’s initiative and custom work, we have collaborated on a couple retail projects. For a store located in Soho, called Hat Club, we worked together to give the interior space a makeover and create a custom puzzle piece that could live individually or as a full shelving unit. While each project has its challenges, this project presented us with one of the oldest properties in New York City, to create a chic hat store while keeping the integrity and essence of the building.
Meanwhile, for Extra Butter, an UPscale shoe store on Orchard Street, we collaborated to create a cinematic retail experience seen through old-fashioned movie chairs and long velvet curtains. These unique projects can only be done with others that possess creativity and “outside-the-box” thinking. In both of these projects, we were able to collaborate to create a custom design storefront and retail space that boasted of stylish decor; creating a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.
Tristan said that besides missing the food he grew to love on the lower east side (downtown Manhattan), he also missed the uniqueness the city held from custom designed spaces. Few cities host such an array of architectural styles and history within a single block. From new retail stores to old gothic style houses to modern commercial buildings, New York boasts a colorful display of structures and culture.
When one drives out to the suburbs, it's common to find whole neighborhoods with tract housing, commonly referred to as ‘cookie cutter homes,’ what they lack are personality and individuality. Having his newly finished custom cabin just outside the city was a great attraction and way of showing off his skills first-hand when moving south. It is also a strong start to his ambitions of delving into the craft of custom homes.