Artist Profile: Woodworking in Form and Function

Changing careers isn’t always easy. But it isn’t always hard either. For Scott McGlasson, it took just one evening at a cabinet making class to send his work life in a completely new direction.  

But it wasn’t a leap of faith, he said. It was a slow ascension. 

About 15 years ago, McGlasson was working in child development for Minneapolis Public Schools. One of the fringe benefits of the position was the opportunity to take classes at MCTC. Choosing which class to take, which new hobby to pursue, was more about economical home decorating than anything else.

“I was just kind of broke and wanted some nice furniture and figured the only way I’m going to get anything decent is if I make it myself,” McGlasson said.

So he took a night class in cabinet making. 

The first piece McGlasson made was a 1950s inspired two-tiered table (which today sits in his sister’s living room). And he was hooked. He found himself looking forward to each class, counting down the days until he could get back in the wood shop. Soon he was phasing out of his career in child development and into his new one as a woodworker and designer. 

Just because it wasn’t a hard transition doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard work, though. McGlasson continued to take classes for the next couple of years. He found work painting houses and doing carpentry and remodeling while he built his business.  

Today, operating out of a 4,000 square foot studio in a co-op shared with a few other woodworkers, McGlasson and his one assistant are “busy as heck” making furniture as well as interiors for residential and business spaces. Lately, McGlasson’s work has centered around furniture, with about 50 percent commission pieces and 50 percent original work for sales like the American Craft Council, Chicago’s One of a Kind and the Mill City Farmers Market. McGlasson also sells his work at the Walker Shop and Gallery 360. 

“Scott McGlasson is one of the most talented woodworkers I know. His retro inspired contemporary designs are a great fit for the gallery; he has also done some incredible custom work for some of my customers,” Gallery 360 owner Merry Beck said.

With a natural eye for interior decorating and design, McGlasson calls himself a minimalist who draws inspiration from the simple beauty of mid-century and Shaker furniture. His designs walk the line between straightforward utilitarian function and thoughtful, sometimes striking, design. Though McGlasson’s favorites tend to be the simplest pieces, like the design he refers to as a peasant bench.

“It’s a design that farmers have been riffing on forever,” McGlasson said. “Basically, that’s a bench that’s been around for thousands of years.” 

Over the last decade and a half, McGlasson has made a name for himself. And, while he says he thinks it’s part of the human condition to always be looking for the next thing, he also feels as though he’s now where he wanted to be. 

“Earlier, people would ask you to knock things off, looking to save a buck. I don’t really get that anymore. People come to me looking for my aesthetic, which is kind of nice,” McGlasson said.