Marshall Farm Wood-Works is a small furniture company located on Chappaquiddick Island, owned and operated by Collins Heavener.
MFWW furniture is built to order. Collins works closely with architects, designers and clients to discuss style, sizing, materials and the small details that make each piece unique.
The Studio
MFWW operates out of a newly constructed timber frame barn, located a stone’s throw from the original workshop in the basement of our 18th century Cape Cod farmhouse.
Every stick of the barn—frame, sheathing, flooring, trim, doors—was milled from Island grown trees using MFWW’s portable sawmill. Collins hand cut and assembled the frame on site, raising each section with the help of neighbors.
The design of the barn pays tribute to the Island vernacular while the approach to construction reflects the ethos and work ethic of old New England farmers.
The Farm
Marshall Farm is, in fact, a farm. We raise lamb, poultry and maintain a small garden of vegetables. You can find our meat and occasional produce alongside Slip Away Farm (our sister farm) vegetables and flowers, in Chappaquiddick's original one-room schoolhouse located at the old Marshall Farm Homestead.
Sawmill
The forests and front yards of Chappaquiddick, and the greater island of Martha's Vineyard, host a number of tree species not typically found in the lumber yard -- english elm, sycamore-maple, pignut hickory, sassafras and beetlebung, to name a few. These trees, along with the more common varieties--red maple, white & red oak, beech and sycamore -- grow in a harsh coastal environment. These stresses experienced in the development of a tree often result in brilliant, unique and unusual figuring.
To harness this local resource, MFWW owns a portable sawmill capable of processing trees up to 21' long and 22" wide into lumber. When a tree falls down in a winter storm, or has simply reached the end of its life, the sawmill is the link between an ailing tree and its next stage of life as a family heirloom.
If you have a tree that you'd like to transform into a piece of furniture, please get in touch.
Collins Heavener
A lifelong New Englander, Collins was born and raised in Vermont. After studying wood science in college and apprenticing with an established New Hampshire furniture maker, Collins landed on Martha’s Vineyard in his mid-twenties. Brought to Chappaquiddick by a collaborative effort to establish a vegetable and flower farm, he’s spent the better part of the last decade farming, attending and managing the Island’s Farmers’ Market, volunteering for the local fire department, building MFWW and growing a family.