Working Hands NOLA is a husband-and-wife woodworking studio where Garen and Julia craft warm, compelling pieces from reclaimed timber with a story to tell. Each coaster, chopstick, and cutting board is shaped from antique wood—pulled from the Mississippi or salvaged from old New Orleans shotgun houses, some dating back to the 1800’s—wood that has weathered time and carries the marks of its past.  

With Garen’s background in commercial construction and Julia’s in garden and landscape design, working with their hands has always been a part of who they are. Their work is a quiet conversation with the lumber, giving new life to material that might otherwise be lost.  

To them, woodworking is both practical and poetic—a way to honor the history of a place, to shape something lasting, and to connect with the hands that will hold it next.