ALOHA, my name is Gianfranco Melle,second generation fine furniture maker. My origins are Italian and I was raised in Germany, as far I can remember I spend many hours along with my father in the woodshop in my youth. At a young age, my passion for woodworking was strong, helping my father around the shop was always a learning process for me. At age 16, I started my professional 3 year apprenticeship program for fine furniture making, the German name for it is “Tischler” which means the table maker. It was very intense and you needed to be disciplined to make it through the 3 year program.

Working with any wood species has its challenges, but let me tell you something if you ever touch Koa wood you will find out, that it is more intense working with this wood. This wood is the king of all woods and grows only here in Hawai’i, it comes in many different grain structures and colors, from light blond, brown, red, dark brown with black streaks. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with this precious wood, I use all the techniques that I inquired throughout my years as a furniture maker, to not waste any of this wood.