Hey There
I'm the hands — and the thinking — behind Backfield Woodworking Co.
I live and work in Bowmanville, Ontario with my wife and two kids, where I build made-to-order furniture and homeware from solid Canadian hardwood.
This business is rooted in something simple: the belief that the things you bring into your home should be built to last, made with honest materials, and connected to the place and the people behind them.
-Ryan
What We Build
Today, Backfield makes three things:
Furniture Collections
Signature pieces designed in-house and built to order from solid Canadian hardwood. These are the pieces we keep returning to, refining, and building for people who want something that lasts.
Homeware
Trays, coasters, serving boards, book stands, and wall shelves. Made in limited runs or to order, with the same materials and standards as the furniture.
Custom Work
Pieces designed around a specific space, a specific need, a specific home. We work through it together.
Where This Started
I've been woodworking for about ten years. It started practically — we didn't want mass-produced furniture that wouldn't last or fit how we actually lived, so I started making our own pieces instead.
What began as a way to furnish a home became something I couldn't put down. And now, we're building pieces that fit into the homes of Canadians from Coast-to-Coast.
My grandfather was a carpenter. My dad, a millwright and skilled builder. Working with your hands — understanding materials, solving problems in three dimensions — was always close.
Backfield Woodworking Co. became official in 2023. But the instinct behind it goes back much further.
The Backfield
Behind the neighbourhood I grew up in was an open field we called the Backfield.
No rules. Just space, materials, and the freedom to figure things out.
We built forts from scrap wood. Used what we had. There wasn’t a plan. Just instinct, problem-solving, and a sense for when something felt right.
That way of working stuck.
The field is gone now — replaced by houses.
Planting trees with each piece is a small way of holding onto that connection. Not just to the material, but to the idea that there should still be space to explore, build, and figure things out.
Backfield is named for that place — and what it represented:
resourcefulness, connection to nature, and the habit of making things with purpose.
It’s still how I approach the work today.
Design Philosophy
Three principles guide every piece built here.
Purpose.
Design begins with use. Every piece should exist for a reason — supporting, holding, organizing, or gathering the objects and moments of everyday life.
Balance.
Achieved through proportion. When the relationships between height, depth, thickness, and spacing are right, furniture feels calm and settled rather than heavy or fragile.
Warmth.
Furniture should invite everyday life. Natural hardwood, visible grain, and tactile finishes create pieces that feel better the longer they live in a home.
Materials & Craft
We work with domestically sourced Canadian hardwoods — white oak, walnut, maple, and ash — selected for strength, character, and the ability to age well over time.
Every piece is finished with natural oil and hardwax oil finishes that penetrate the wood rather than sitting on top of it. The result is a surface that feels closer to the material — and can be maintained and refinished over time rather than replaced.
And with every piece sold, we plant trees through our partnership with One Tree Planted. It's a small thing. But it adds up and makes a difference.
What You Can Expect
Transparency about how your piece is made and what it costs. Fair pricing that reflects the true cost of quality materials and skilled work. Honest timelines. And furniture that's built to outlast the trends it was made alongside.
This isn't furniture for simply filling a space.
It's built to be lived with.