William’s World: The Mind Behind Graeber Design
A quarter century later, Graeber’s become something of a maestro, designing and building custom furniture for clients across the country.
William Graeber has at least three superpowers. One is that he can make precise calculations, design and engineer furniture in his mind. He sees his thought process as though he’s writing it out on a chalkboard, and he can hold that chalkboard in his mind and refer to calculations, measurements or notes he’s mentally written out throughout the process of building or overseeing the production of a week’s worth of furniture in his design studio. The second is that he has an uncanny charm with the ability to tap into a person’s demeanor and harmonize with them conversationally. He catches a vibe and surfs on it and he’s terrific at absorbing and reflecting emotion. The third is that he says aloud the emotionally honest things that most of us only think. For example, at the end of this interview, he looked up and smiled and said, disarmingly, “I hope you liked me.”
Graeber, a self-described “troublesome kid,” now knows that he has a high-functioning form of Asperger syndrome, a bold contributor to his superpowers as an adult, but as a youngster he found himself getting kicked out of classes. At one point his choices had dwindled to two: PE or woodshop. “I chose woodshop. I’d been drawing since I was eight years old, and I took to woodworking like a duck to water,” he says.
That shop class was the gateway to Graeber’s creative unfurling. He began watching “The New Yankee Workshop” and reading woodworking magazines. He built some drum risers—playing music has also long been a part of Graeber’s creative repertoire, and he played in bands for decades. Then, it happened. “My first project. Someone asked me to build some pedestals for their home. My second project was building an entry table.”
But that’s not all that was going on at that particular moment. As his love for furniture design grew, so did the success of his other venture. He and a friend had opened Oklahoma’s first professional body piercing shop in 1992. By 1996, it was doing well enough that Graeber was able to open a small furniture boutique as well, which solidified his growing suspicion: he was born to be a furniture designer and woodworker. In 1999, he sold his piercing business and never looked back.
His north Edmond studio, Graeber Design, is sprinkled with sawdust and filled with furniture in various stages of construction, a sort of high-style version of Santa’s workshop. There are lots of table bases, chair legs, pieces of raw lumber and power tools and the air is filled with music and shared laughter among Graeber’s team of designers and builders. It’s a harmonious group, an ad hoc family of craftsmen who build beautiful furniture together and sit down for lunch as a group each day. It’s cheerful. Flexible. Except for the music. “I’m the dictator of music. It changes every day: folk, metal, Sinatra, Prince, Johnny Cash…” he says.
For the first 14 years of Graeber Design, he built a lot of cabinets. “I was about 75 percent cabinets and 25 percent furniture,” he says. He was also enjoying a steady flow of historical renovation work from around the country and traveling hither and thither to meet those demands. In 2013, he did something he still doesn’t quite understand: “I moved to Hawaii for no real reason.” He’d been there on vacation and the islands just got in his head. “I was at La Perouse Bay, and something rare happened. I couldn’t see or hear another sign of life. I sat and listened to the rocks and coral and waves,” he says.
He was drawn to go back. “Everything became about Hawaii after that,” he says. He’d turn on the television and the show “House Hunters” would be in Hawaii. Flip to the Cooking Channel and it’s Hawaiian food. That sort of thing. So away he went. Aloha Oklahoma, Aloha Hawaii. But after a bit, island life felt too repetitive. “I’m glad I went but, when you live on an island, before long you’ve done everything. There was one movie theater on Maui. The putt-putt golf shut down.” It was a life of eat, surf, hike, repeat. Which - make no mistake - was lovely and Graeber doesn’t take for granted that he was able to do it.
Two years later, he was back in Oklahoma, initially to care for his father, but at that point he knew it was probably to stay. “When I moved back in 2015, the market was ready.” The handmade, local movement was in full swing, and Graeber had honed his hand-finishing skills during his Hawaiian sabbatical.
Today, Graeber Design crafts 200-250 custom pieces of furniture each year. Every piece is handmade, which means every single piece is unique. Bespoke. Many Graeber pieces are rendered in white oak or walnut. “I love white oak because of its density and because it handles Oklahoma’s humidity beautifully,” he says. “And walnut is just gorgeous.”
Tables are by far his most prolific creations. All of his table base designs are based on a curved feature he calls an eyelash. Beyond that, they’re as different as can be. Beautifully ornate and timeless, traditional, super clean, elegant and modern or something else altogether. “The Sophia base is the most popular,” he says.
Graeber Design will celebrate 25 years in business in June, and there will be a huge celebration, including 25 days of Instagram giveaways. “We’ll give away everything, from T-shirts and coasters to dining tables,” he says, gleefully.
All of his stock table bases are named for his pets. And all of his pets have been named after actresses. So there’s Sophia, Vivien, Ava, Lillian, Greta, Marlene, Tippi and Audrey. Sophia, the best-seller, is a smooth beauty with a solid base, and a choice of tabletops including round, oval or pill. All of his standard designs are highly customizable, offered in a variety of woods, finishes and sizes. He also makes chairs, beds, nightstands and side or coffee tables. Non-standard designs are limited only by his clients’ imaginations and the laws of physics, although even these are regularly bent. Demand is high and some custom orders are waitlisted and have been for years. William Graeber has clearly hit his stride. His life is sweet, his furniture is beautiful, and within his mind is his own brand of magic.