For Jordan and Max Hoener, their work is all about taking the extra time and care to make a furniture piece the right way. “The time and craftsmanship that we put into our pieces,” they explain. “It’s what we take pride in.” The Hoeners can also take pride in their first place finish in Chronogram‘s Readers’ Choice Awards in the Furniture Maker category.
While their familial history of design and craftsmanship runs deep in their blood, neither wife nor husband planned on opening Hoener Farms as a furniture business. After living in Colorado and spending much of their time traveling, Jordan and Max decided that they wanted a change of pace. Max grew up in Rhinebeck. “I wasn’t able to appreciate it as much growing up,” Max reflects. But, as adults, the Hudson Valley was the perfect place for them to honor their lifelong dream of owning a farm.
When they moved onto their farm in Millbrook in 2018, they had a lot of work to do. They wanted to create a vibrant, sustainable farm full of animals. First, they had to clear out all the overgrowth and dead trees. “We started in a difficult direction,” Max says. Instead of bringing these trees to the landfill, they decided they wanted to eliminate as much waste as possible. Because of their pre-existing love of design and their family history of woodworking, furniture making was the natural next step.
The cause of their foray into the world of furniture creation also gave them the inspiration for their program known as “full-circle furniture.” This program starts with anyone who has a dead tree on their land, whether it is meaningful to them or they want to keep it out of the landfill. At Hoener Farms, Jordan and Max will transform that tree into a piece of well-crafted furniture that can be passed down for generations. The spirit of lessening dependence on landfills is prominent in the durability of each piece. “These are meant to last many lifetimes,” Jordan says.
Jordan and Max are sure to emphasize how important connection is to them: with the client, the raw wood, and the finished project. The meaning that is infused already into every piece of “full-circle furniture” is their biggest inspiration in what they do. “We love everything we make,” Max states. “And it really shows in the finished work.”
