Made in Tarrant: Fort Worth furniture builder reflects on craft, creating table for Yolanda Hadid

Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here. 

Jonny West is a furniture builder at Simple Things Furniture Company at 7401 W. Vickery Blvd. on the edge of Fort Worth and Benbrook. The company, which was founded in 1997 by Jim VanAntwerp, sells upholstered goods and interior fittings, including antiques, sofas, rugs, light fixtures and decorations. 

Items also include tables constructed and refurbished by Simple Things builders in a warehouse across the street from the storefront. 

Contact information: 

Website: http://simplethingsfurniture.com/

Email: simplethingsmail@aol.com

Phone: 817-332-1772

Facebook: Simple Things Furniture Company 

The Fort Worth Report spoke with Jonny West, who has been with Simple Things Furniture Company for 13 years, about how he creates one-of-a-kind pieces unique to the store. He also discussed one of his latest projects — a 1,300-pound solid steel table for Dutch TV star and model Yolanda Hadid’s Fort Worth ranch. 

David Moreno: You’ve been a furniture builder with Simple Things for 13 years. Tell me a little bit about your background. What brought you to the store?

Jonny West: I started in health care doing home health. I did a lot of special needs and acute care work. I worked long term with a patient whose death was pretty hard. I was in between (caring for) families and I went on a 14-day trip through the mountains while I was waiting to be placed with another family. 

Then Jim, the owner of Simple Things, had a Fourth of July party and needed help moving some stuff from one building to another. I told him I could help while I waited to get placed and so I started building in the warehouse. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was going to figure it out. The rest is history. 

Moreno: So prior to Simple Things, you had no training in furniture design? 

West: No background training. I’ve always been really tactile, I love doing stuff with my hands. 

Moreno: Were there any challenges in learning how to build furniture?

West: A lot of mess ups at the beginning, but I really clung to a lot of the older guys who have been doing this for a long time. I was the dude that was always asking questions. ‘Why’d you do that?’ Then I read a lot, did a lot of research and just started trying to figure things out on my own. I’d say the majority of what we do is upholstery, and then maybe 15% is making the furniture. 

Moreno: I know you’ve made some big tables, some coffee tables. Walk me through what that process looks like when you’re creating a piece. 

West: When I started, a lot of what I was doing was furniture for the store. We’ve transitioned to people seeing things on the floor and wanting either their own or their own pieces at different dimensions. So it’s a lot of back and forth with the customer on what they want and trying to find that common ground. Sometimes I’ll sketch and sometimes I’ll build a miniature option so they can see it, feel it and look at it. It’s a lot of welding, grinding and sanding. 

Moreno: One of the biggest projects you recently did was a 1,300-pound solid steel table for Yolanda Hadid. How did that project come along? What was it like to work on something of that size? 

West: She designed the whole thing, I just helped get it to become a realistic piece. I broke everything down into individual pieces. You have a top, table apron, and you have the base. Each base is four walls with the bottom. It was a lot of time, a lot of muscle and a lot of grinding. 

Moreno: Working with that much steel, how long did it take to put it together?

West: I’d say that one was probably around 45 to 60 hours. This piece is by far my favorite, not because of who it was for, but because it’s so straight-lined. (Yolanda) didn’t want anything rounded. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist and the table just satisfied me. 

Moreno: What makes Simple Things unique in comparison to other furniture stores in Fort Worth?

West: You’re just not gonna find another place like this. The sole purpose when you walk in is for it not to feel like you’re walking into a furniture store. You get this calming, chill environment where you don’t feel pressured to buy stuff. We’re never following you around trying to get you a real good deal. 

Moreno: I’ve done a couple of interviews with other furniture store owners. One owner in particular told me how it feels different when you have a special piece and it’s not mass produced. He said you feel when it’s made with love. Would you say you have the same kind of ideology? 

West: Pretty much. We’ll go around and try to find older antique pieces, but what we’re building is truly one-of-a-kind. You may see some iterations, but we’ve got a few pieces that have never been done and never will by anybody else. 

Moreno: What does the future look like for you not only as an employee at Simple Things, but as a furniture builder?

West: I don’t know, I think about that a lot. As long as Simple Things is here, I’ll be here — I love it. 

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