80 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} FURNITURE MAKER tree to table words by JENNIFER JORY • photography by GINO DE GRANDIS The transformation that happens when Nolan shapes raw wood into furniture and cabinets can seem almost magical. “There are people who mill wood, and those who build furniture, but I think I am one of the few on the Peninsula who does both,” the woodworker says. At just 29 years old, Nolan recently opened his furniture making business Maker and the Moose in downtown San Mateo. The young entrepreneur already knows a secret to success that often takes a Custom furniture maker Nolan Hall has a confession to make. “I have turned my backyard into a sawmill,” he says. “I do Alaskan chainsaw milling and if I see logs or stumps alongside the road, I just pick them up and mill them in my backyard.” His passion for turning discarded wood into something people can use is motivated by a desire to prevent it from going to waste. Combining the skills of a fine craftsman with the strength to wrestle a stump, Nolan brings creativity and precision to his work. “I look at the shape of the wood and I let the piece decide what it wants to be,” he says. lifetime to learn: “I found when you help people you are generally happier,” he reflects. “When you are doing something special for someone you get a lot of joy out of it, too.” Nolan gained this lesson while growing up in Atlanta and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. With the wood-working skills his grandfather taught him, he joined the house-building nonprofit and it quickly turned into a passion. “I went once and got bit by the bug and went every single weekend all through high school,” Nolan recalls. “When I was a senior in high school, I led a large team
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