About Smith & Gray
Established over a decade ago, Smith & Gray are multi-award winning furniture makers, specialising in creating bespoke, hand-crafted furniture and joinery.
Directors Mark Smith and Dave Gray learnt their trade at Brisbane’s renowned Bell Bros and each have over 30 years experience in the custom furniture industry. Over their careers, Mark and Dave have crafted furniture for five star hotels, luxury residences, super yachts and clients who demand and appreciate uniquely designed custom furniture.
Mark and Dave bring to Smith & Gray their vast knowledge and understanding of furniture design, materials and construction.
Our team are masters of time-honoured crafts such as cabinet making, joinery, carving, wood-turning, marquetry, gilding and polishing.
In fact, we are 1 of the very few furniture makers in Brisbane that does all of our polishing in-house. This enables us to control this crucial part of the process and maintain the highest of standards.
We also partner with highly-experienced and trusted specialist tradespeople including upholsterers, steel fabricators & stone masons to enable us to offer even more options for our clients.
Mark Smith
Owner
35 years experience
Ever since I was in primary school, I have enjoyed making things out of timber. My mum used to bring me home bits of timber that she would raid from building skip bins and I would make planter boxes and other things out of them. I was then given an old wood lathe from a family friend that fuelled my passion in creating things out of timber. I learnt about my ancestor a famous wood carver – Arthur Hayball and really admired the detail and talent that his work expressed. I received the highest marks for woodwork in year ten that empowered me to begin an apprenticeship at Bell Brothers as a cabinet maker at 16 years old. Working at Bell Brothers is where I first met Dave, both working as apprentices.
I would do wood turning at night after work and would subcontract turned timber components to Bell Brothers. After completing my apprenticeship Dave and I went to work for FMCA and started a cabinet making division. As FMCA grew, Dave and I decided to venture into our own company and start Smith and Gray Furniture Makers when I was 36 years old.
Over my 35 years’ experience in fine furniture making, I have been able to engage in learning many different fine skills and continue to grow, enhance and challenge my skills to make sure we produce only the best quality furniture.
Dave Gray
Owner
40 years experience
As a young boy I have fond memories of wood working with my Grandfather who was a builder. He initially taught me different skills that sparked my passion for making different things out of wood. My enthusiasm only increased when I was able to learn more in high school where I did well at wood working.
This encouraged me to get an apprenticeship with the furniture making company Bell Brothers when I had just turned 15 years old. After working for Bell Brothers for 14years, they had closed, I got asked (with Mark) to help form FMCA. Following another 14years of working at FMCA fine furniture making, Mark and I desired to get back to making quality furniture and decided to make a new venture into something that is our own ‘Smith and Gray Furniture Makers’. This company has become something that we are proud of, that produced quality furniture and has really been able to grow, teach others and expand with Mark and my 75 plus combined years’ experience.
The workshop
The Smith & Gray workshop is fittingly located amongst the tall timbers of Wights Mountain near Samford, a 20km scenic drive from Brisbane city.
The property has been owned and handed down by many generations of the Smith family and is now home to Smith & Gray’s expansive workshop and showroom space.
We have recently doubled our floor space allowing us to streamline our processes and produce more outstanding furniture. We have also created a showroom space that will be open by appointment.
