Meet Drew Allman | Furniture Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Drew Allman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Drew, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
At the time, my thought process was: anything will be better than what I’m currently doing. I had been in corporate sales for 12 years and had experienced my share of high highs and low lows. After a tough transition from college to the real world, I finally got my feet under me and started experiencing success at several companies.

Despite this success, I turned down a promotion from my employer at the time for a better title and more money at another company. Little did I know that the position would not exist in 3 months once the downturn of ’08 hit.

This decision led to a cascade of other jobs that never lasted longer than a year as a result of buyouts and layoffs.

In retrospect, leaving the world of gainful employment would have seemed like madness had I not found myself at the bottom. To bring it full circle, my thought process was not about, “I have this great idea…” it was more about, I have nothing to loose.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve told you about my “professional” life. When it comes to the story of my artistic life, it’s way more fun. I always LOVED the idea of making furniture; It’s in my blood. My great grandfather and uncle made furniture in Kansas City at the turn of the century. My grandparents refinished and repaired furniture for fun in Houston after they retired. So I guess it was inevitable.

I had no idea what I was doing when I started so, as I like to say, I became an apprentice to YouTube. I learned quite a bit and made many mistakes. I learned how to make concrete counters, epoxy rivers, weld metal and everything in between.

With this experience, I have accomplished a lot. I have made art installations for well known apparel companies, been featured in major publications and worked with famous interior designers. There is a lot more I would like to accomplish but it’s been an amazing ride so far!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
You can’t visit “Denver” without doing these things: -Brunch at linger with bottomless mimosas and their ridiculous churro french toast
-Coffee and walk down Platt street ending at REI and confluence park
-evening game at Coors field
-Coctail and a stroll through union station.
-Show at Red Rocks
-Tacos at Dos Santos in City Park
-Dinner at Milk Market
-Drive up to Mt Evans
-Food Trucks and First Friday on Santa Fe

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to Tom Pagel. Despite this section being an opportunity to express gratitude and thankfulness, I can’t type his name without feeling a deep sadness. Tom took his life a year and a half ago.

Tom was an experienced interior designer, I was a fresh-faced woodworker. He took me under his wing and taught me how to value myself and the pieces of art that I produce. That meant stepping outside of my comfort zone and charging customers what it ACTUALLY costs to make a custom piece of furniture.

What was truly unique was that these decisions affected him since these were his customers. It didn’t matter though; he was more concerned with my success, than the potential objections of this customers.

Website: www.boardandbolt.com

Instagram: @boardandbolt

Linkedin: Drew Allman

Facebook: @boardandbolt