Dean Ludwig is a custom furniture maker in northwest Ohio
He builds fine custom furniture, custom rocking chairs and much more

Dean Ludwig is a full-time, professional custom furniture maker who owns and operates a studio near Toledo, Ohio. Dean’s work has received local, national, and international recognition. His work in custom-designed church furnishings received the prestigious 2000 Design Award from the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture, and was featured in both Woodwork and Faith and Form magazines. His work has appeared on the cover of Woodwork magazine and the cover of Richard S. Vosko’s recent book, God’s House is our House: Re-imagining the Environment for Worship.

Dean also designs and constructs custom handmade furniture for private residences and for businesses including:

• Custom boardroom conference tables
• Custom dining tables
• Custom chairs
• Custom side tables
• Handmade rocking chairs
• Distinctive desks

Dean tries to build at least a handful of custom rocking chairs every year. He enjoys distinctive rocking chairs for their complexity and for their symbolic value. “Rocking chairs,” suggests Dean, “symbolize quiet and pause and reflection in a world that is far too hurried.” Dean’s custom rocking chairs are in the Maloof tradition but with noticeable modifications in appearance and feel that he has incorporated over time. “My rockers clearly pay tribute to the man I consider to be the greatest woodworker of the 20th century, Sam Maloof; but my rockers also continue to evolve their own identity. They will probably continue to evolve for the rest of my life.”

Dean Ludwig has been designing and building in wood since he was a young child, but his early adult life took him in different directions. In addition to earning an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the Wharton School of Business, Dean spent twelve years in studies that would have led to his ordination as a Catholic priest in the religious order known as the Jesuits. Dean left the religious order, however, and spent another dozen years in the “fast track” of running, consulting with, and teaching business. During a classic mid-life transition, it was Sam Maloof who had a tremendous influence on Dean’s life, encouraging him to follow his love of woodworking full-time, but in a way that allowed for quiet and pause and reflection.

Dean still loves to teach and tries to find time to instruct others in furniture design and construction. During his teaching career, Dean received a variety of teaching awards, including the Outstanding Teaching Award at the University of Toledo. He also published numerous articles, edited several books, and founded the University of Toledo Center for Family Business. Dean and his wife, Judy, homeschool their seven children: Todd, John, Dietrich, Owen, Grace, Karl and Kevin.

Dean and Judy try to find time each year to support some of their favorite organizations: Habitat for Humanity, Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging, Heifer International, Sunshine Children’s Homes and Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Dean has helped organize several Habitat for Humanity
building projects.