With combined experience in aerospace engineering, architecture, and fine arts, the family has built a successful, heirloom-quality, customizable business out of their at-home workshop, with customers across the U.S.
In 2019, while the family was seated around the Thanksgiving dinner table, the idea for Frailey Woodworks came to fruition.
James and his daughter, Hannah, both worked at Lockheed Martin when there was a surge of people wanting more ergonomic work, and they started bringing in sit-stand desks to replace traditional desks. “[The desks] just all look like they’re built in a factory somewhere, super industrial, no beauty to them at all, only function,” said Asher. “We were looking at [a photo of a mid-century maple desk] like, ‘what if we could make something that had that beauty but give it the function of a sit-stand desk?’”
A few months later, Asher designed a blueprint, gifted it to James, and they began working to make their dream become a reality. By “June of 2020, we had a fully functioning first prototype,” using a steel hand-cranked design and solid wood to achieve heirloom quality. This desk, The Everyday Desk, is “the root of our company,” said Asher.
The main categories of furniture the family creates are record consoles, storage, desks, tables, and beds. They use four primary hardwoods: walnut, white oak, African mahogany, and cherry, which have been harvested in a sustainable manner.
Through using high-quality materials, maintaining communication, and allowing customization, the Fraileys’ goal is to delight their customer and build a piece that will last through generations.
Asher, James, and Paige divide and conquer on each aspect of the business while seamlessly creating a system where they complete “the whole [process] in-house, all the way from the design to being able to have the piece completed and then delivered to them,” said Asher. The business is run in the shop James built after retirement, behind their home in Weatherford.
Asher handles client communications from beginning to end, perfecting their vision by generating a blueprint and keeping the client in the loop until delivery. James leads their team of craftsmen throughout the construction of the furniture while also managing bookkeeping and shipping. Paige uses her artistic eye to choose the wood for projects and provides the final quality check before being shipped. “I just want to make sure that each piece is as beautiful as I would want it to be if I was receiving it,” said Paige in a video describing their company.
There’s another key member of Frailey Woodworks the family leans on.
The Fraileys are Christian believers, and their company reflects that through their mission statement:
“We exist:
To design and build handcrafted, solid wood, fine furniture,
That delights our customers and endures for generations,
While stewarding the talents and time of our craftsmen,
All for the glory of the Carpenter we love and serve.”
“We do it all for the glory of God…who was a carpenter,” said James.
The Fraileys say they have found peace in trusting the company’s future in their faith. “What will happen will happen,” said Asher. “God owns the whole company. If it grows, it grows. God gets the glory, and if it doesn’t grow, that’s okay too, and God gets the glory,” he said. “He’s going to be faithful to provide in all of our lives with all that we need.”
By putting their best foot forward with handcrafting furniture, utilizing skills, customer treatment, and entrusting the Lord, the Fraileys have created a successful, home-based, high-quality furniture business.
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