Furniture designer Luis Peña was introduced to woodworking watching his dad tinker in the garage. “He built a bookcase for me, and it really stuck that you can make your own things,” he recalls. “It gave me confidence.” Fast-forward 30 years and Peña is now a dad himself. A bookshelf he made for his daughter is part of his collection of more than a dozen pieces distinguished by their intricate yet playful geometry. “Woodworking is an accumulation of my entire creative history—from graphic design to commercial film director,” Peña says. “It tells a story, it evokes emotion.”

By YELENA MOROZ ALPERT