Woodworking & Fabrication Craftsmanship
Behind the Tools
Arotza Woodworks designs and builds custom furniture that is just as strong as it is beautiful. All pieces are built with solid, natural wood and with proven techniques to create heirloom furniture that will be passed on for generations.
Founded by Peter Dayton in 2021, Arotza Woodworks is built on a foundation of traditional techniques and skills he learned working as a shipwright in the Basque Country.
For as long as I can remember, I have had an innate passion and desire to create.
With previous experience in the construction and culinary industries, Peter’s desire to create has taken him to assisting with award-winning construction projects (The Dalí, St. Petersburg, FL) and working in the kitchen of a 3-star Michelin restaurant (Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain).
It’s in 2014 when the Arotza Woodworks story began. Peter’s passion to create led him across the Atlantic to the Basque Country, building a replica of a 16th century wooden whaling ship alongside master local craftsmen. He fell in love with woodworking there, appreciating the art of shaping trees into function and beauty. He learned about the characteristics of wood, how it moves, how to cut and shape it. He learned about joinery - how to properly connect one piece of wood to another. He learned about the tools, many of which were the basic hand tools that would have been used in the 16th century.
I was hooked. I knew that for the rest of my life, I would be on a journey to master this ancient craft that I had discovered.
In 2021, he returned to the US and founded Arotza Woodworks, built on the foundation of the traditional techniques and skills Peter learned as a shipwright. Arotza designs and builds custom furniture that is durable, beautiful, and timeless. Pieces are built with a combination of machinery and hand tools (no CNC’s, no plywood), using hand-cut joinery techniques that have been proven over centuries to build heirloom furniture that will be passed on for generations. Avoiding trends and fleeting fads, Arotza designs are focused on clean lines and proper proportioning. And perhaps, most importantly, Peter never stops learning.
