Est. 2009 — Pacific Northwest
A family studio. A lifelong obsession with rare wood.
Our Story
HPFA — Hardwood & Precious Fine Art — was founded in 2009 by master woodworker Elliot Hargrove, who stumbled across a myrtle burl slab at an Oregon lumber mill and spent three months turning it into a wall panel for his dining room. Within a week of completing it, four dinner guests asked where they could buy something like it.
There was nowhere to buy something like it. So Elliot built a studio instead.
Over the next decade, HPFA grew from a one-man weekend operation into a full studio with three resident craftsmen and an international network of sustainably-sourced burl suppliers. The founding philosophy remains unchanged: treat every slab as a once-in-history artifact, and give it the time and skill it deserves.
I didn't set out to build a business. I just couldn't bear to see a burl like that disappear into a pile of scrap at the mill. Once you've seen what's inside one of these things, you can't un-see it.— Elliot Hargrove, Founder
The Studio Team
Founder and lead craftsman. Trained in fine furniture making at the Krenov School, Elliot has been working with exotic woods for 25 years. His specialty is large-format burl panels and epoxy void work.
Founder & Master CraftsmanElliot's daughter and studio partner since 2017. Simone manages client commissions, species sourcing, and all finishing work. She has a particular passion for rare exotic species and color-matching epoxy work.
Studio Director & FinisherA self-taught woodworker from Tennessee who joined the studio in 2019, Marcus specializes in custom mounting hardware and the technical aspects of large-format piece installation. He also manages the studio's domestic burl supply network.
Craftsman & Hardware SpecialistOur Values
Every exotic species we use is sourced with full documentation of legal harvest. We work only with mills and brokers who provide verifiable chain-of-custody records. Burls are often salvage material — removed from trees that have already fallen or been cleared for other purposes.
We turn down more slabs than we accept. If a piece doesn't meet our standard, it goes back on the drying rack — or back to the supplier. There are no second-tier pieces in our studio.
Every piece leaves the studio with full species identification, harvest origin (where known), and creation date. This documentation dramatically increases the piece's value as a collector's item and heirloom.
Many of our best clients have commissioned five, ten, or more pieces over the years. We build collections with collectors, not just individual sales.
Visit the Studio
Our studio in the Pacific Northwest is open for visits by appointment. Come see works in progress, handle sample slabs, and meet the team. It's the best way to understand what makes HPFA work extraordinary.
Schedule a Studio Visit