ORANGE, Calif.—If you have lovingly restored an old Craftsman home, with its dark wood, stained gass, and handcrafted built-in cabinets, chances are you're not going to shop for light fixtures at Home Depot.

You'll make the pilgrimage to Old California in Orange, which individually handcrafts home goods inspired by historical design. There you'll find lighting, rugs, mirrors and other finishing touches influenced by the classic architects Charles Sumner Greene and his brother Henry Mather Greene, whose designs were among the most influential within the Arts & Crafts movement, which emphasized traditional craftsmanship over increasing industrialization.

True to the ethos of the Arts & Crafts movement, each item at Old California is handcrafted, honoring both the object and and the dignity of the labor that went into it. It is painstaking work, requiring many skilled hands. But finding those workers is increasingly challenging, according to Joshua Scheide, Old California's creative director.

“People come into the factory lacking confidence and foundational skills, he said. “Training is a big gap for us. Certain jobs turn over a lot.”

Overseas manufacturing is not an option.“Customers want handcrafted, individual design,” Scheide said. And Old California, a 30-year-old family-owned company currently run by the second generation, wouldn't consider it. So they looked for organizations to support that would help train the kid of skilled craftspeople they were looking to hire.

They found Would Works through its social media posts. A non-profit social enterprise, Would Works provides job training in woodworking for people with high barriers to employment. Instagram posts showed artisans learning to make cutting boards, trays, stools, and patio furniture in its Downtown Los Angeles workshop, using equipment dontated by Shaper Origin, ShopBot and Lee Valley.

Old California reached out. “Within a couple of conversations we thought, ‘This is it, this is a perfect partnership,’” Scheide said. “They share our committment to building confidence and skills. These are the kinds of changes we want to support.”

For Would Works executive director Michele Liu, it was an opportunity to challenge the artisans, many of whom were dealing with housing insecurity, disabilities or involvement with the justice system. And it was an opportunity to broaden the market for Would Works' handcrafted wooden housewares, the sales of which supported the program.

They started to work together to develop a capsule collection that Old California could offer to customers on its website. It had to reflect design elements that appealed to Old California's audience, and it had to be something that Would Works' artisans could achieve.

It took several sketches and meetings to hit on the right design. “We decided to lean into the classic Greene & Greene ‘cloudlift’ detail that is prevalant in all their designs,” Liu said. Kind of a squared arch, it's a frequent Greene & Greene detail.

And it provided the right level of challenge for the artisans. “A lot of simple designs are complicated to execute,” Liu said. “This is more advanced than our regular product line. It stepped things up for our artisans.”

The artisans learned how to work on a Shaper Origin, a handheld digital router newly donated by Shaper Tools. The experience provided important digital fabrication skillks that will help qualify them for jobs in a manufacturing industry that requires both hand skills and comfort with technology.

“This project has been a little different; there are more processes we have to go through,” said artisan Robert McLaurin, who has been with Would Works for nine months. “It's more work but it's more fun because we get to use a variety of machines and we're learning something new.” McLaurin said he loves the exposure to woodworking. “I'm into art, and learning how to make useful stuff is a good skill to have in life.”

The Would Works and Old Claifornia capsule collection includes coasters, cutting boards and a magnetic knife rack, all priced around $100, available online at oldcalifornia.com. “With this capsule collection our customers can accessorize their home with functional, historically inspired art,” Scheide said. “The fact that their purchase also helps them support someone learning a new skill is the cherry on top.”

Media Contact

Julie Jaskol
310.975.9493
julie@wouldworks.com