How would you describe your style?  Like the Shakers and many Modernists, my style is the byproduct of my self-made assignments. First, the furniture needs to be comfortable, so I make dimensions and angles to support good posture. Second, the parts need to nest together to use every inch of each sheet of plywood, so every angle gets a match, and every curve gets a counter-curve. Then I work and rework the piece until each joint is sturdy and each proportion is elegant.

Do you remember the first thing you made? Fitting, building and rebuilding Legos shaped me more than anything, but my first table for my first apartment comes to mind. I found an oak shipping pallet, pulled the nails, planed the wood and made a table. I didn’t know hardwood pallets were common, so the oak seemed like a treasure. Something from nothing.

Before I started making I… I tried to figure everything out. Since I couldn’t, I tried to draw everything out. Since I couldn’t, I started making and learning as I went. I’m still learning.

If I weren’t a maker I’d be... An activist, an architect, an artist, or an author. There are so many people I’d like to emulate. Those are just the vocations starting with A’s.

Favorite quote or words to live by: The imperfect is our paradise. - Wallace Stevens

If I could run away I’d go… To my shop, lock the doors, read, draw, make things, nap, dream and make some more things.

If you could collaborate with one person dead or alive who would it be? Thomas Merton. What would that brilliant, mystical Trappist monk want to make?

What would be on your maker’s soundtrack? Iggy Pop’s Success. “hooray success… I’m gonna go out on the street and do anything I want… Oh, shit! Oh, shit!”

If you could learn a new skill what would it be? I’m working furiously to learn to relax more often, which doesn’t work very well, so could I learn another way?

What’s your favorite movie?   A country puts its social network, economy, and liberty in the hands of a sociopath who ignores serious health threats which force everyone into isolation and fear takes over. I hope it ends well.

What is your perfect day? In December, an assistant was cranking out repetitive work while I did creative work on a prototype for a great client and the current president was being impeached. Perfect.

Last book you read? Co-Illusion: Dispatches from the End of Communication by David Levi Strauss will be released soon. It reads like a well-crafted novel and sheds embarrassingly bright light on all of us politically and personally.

What would your last meal be? For some reason, I’m finding it hard to think about my last meal right now.

Favorite scent? Hardwood being cut. Dust mask, please!

Favorite flower or tree? I owe too much to too many trees to choose one, and every flower is a wonder. My wood fetish may be the root of the zero-waste goal of FN Furniture.

Favorite artist? Julianne Swartz. Proof: I married her.

What is the most challenging project you have worked on? Why? Creating FN Furniture is my most challenging project because it takes faith, and relies on every skill I ever developed from sharpening a chisel to answering an email, and asks for many skills I don’t have yet, such as how to delegate.

Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? Ronald McDonald. That clown sold billions of burgers.

If money was not a factor how would you live your life? Same as now, but with less stress, or would I find other things to stress about?

Best piece of advice you have ever received? Breathe.

Any hidden talents? I’m really, really good at loading the dishwasher.

Where did you grow up? In an original Levitt & Sons house in a Black, Hispanic and Jewish neighborhood on Long Island, six miles away from all-White Levittown.

What is your most treasured possession? My century old cast iron industrial bandsaw. I’ll possess it for a few decades, then pass it on to someone else.

What is your favorite family tradition? Everyone talking at once.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Peace of mind.

What are you currently watching? The world coming to terms with its interconnection and mortality.

What are you most thankful for? My daughter and second, my sanity.

To see more of Ken’s work visit, www.fnfurniture.com or his Instagram @fnfurn