Located just around the corner from the historic Main Street in Buda, Mockingbird Made invites curious visitors inside to see handmade furniture.  The smell of sawdust fills the remodeled warehouse, which is home to a small showroom, a workspace, and several unfinished cabinets and tables.

Jeff and Laura Daly originally opened their business as Mockingbird Domestics, a retail store in South Austin, before deciding to focus on furniture.

“We realized our shop was becoming more of a working studio,” Laura said. “We decided to find a better space for our furniture working.”

The Dalys opened Mockingbird Made in January 2018. They now stay busy supplying designers and individual customers with custom-made tables, media cabinets, coffee tables, headboards, lighting fixtures and more.

“Our style is modern-classic,” Laura said. “We want it to be sustainable in the build and quality and sustainable in the aesthetic.”

The shop combines metals and woods for its sleek designs, using American hardwoods for all of the pieces. Laura said they source as local as possible, even once using a fallen pecan tree from The University of Texas campus in Austin.

“People love to know where their table came from,” Laura said. “Each piece has a story.”

The Dalys work with customers to design the best piece possible for them. Laura has a background in design, so she helps customers think through their homes, styles and personal needs. She also uses a lookbook to help inspire customers. Jeff takes on the engineering side, overseeing the designs and building.

“There’s an emotional attachment to a dining table,” Jeff said. “It’s one of the most important pieces to a family. You gather at it, play games at it, eat on it and more. It’s the center of a lot of homes.”

The Dalys’ passion for furniture stems from years of remodeling and building homes. It was originally a hobby, but when they moved to the Austin area 11 years ago, the two were inspired to open their own business.

“We were excited about Austin being full of creatives and wanted to be part of the maker movement,” Laura said.

Jeff said their style evolves as customer requests change and inspire them. The Dalys encourage clients to be involved, inviting them to stop in at any time to see their piece in progress.

“You can know exactly who made your table and where it is in the process,” Jeff said. “Anyone is welcome to drop in and check us out.”

Mockingbird Made
107 Ash St., Buda
Hours: Mon.-Sat 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and by appointment
512-905-5698
www.mockingbirdmade.com