Brett Martin Crafts Furniture for Beach Living

Brett Martin, woodcrafter and owner of Made on 30A, grew up tinkering and building stuff in Georgia. He’s still building stuff, but on a much grander scale. The smell of fresh-cut wood permeates the air as Martin surveys his current workshop located on Hwy. 393 South. He speaks enthusiastically about his work and how he came to be here.

Having worked in the screen printing and embroidery business in Georgia for 20 years, he sold that business to move here with his family in 2007. The change in scenery necessitated a change in jobs.

Brett began working for a local contractor doing basically “everything” from framing to trim work. He began to notice how much wood was being discarded in the throw-away dumpsters and started to carry scraps home. The wood he salvaged was transformed into his early pieces.

He began slowly, building picture frames, chalk boards, and storage chests. He gambled and took some of these early creations to local South Walton vendors and his work “quickly left the shelves”. Seeing his opportunity, Brett began to explore the possibilities and expanded his line to include furniture. Besides, as Brett put it, my wife kept getting on me to “get that stuff off the porch”!

Now, six years later, Brett’s efforts have evolved into a thriving furniture-making business catering to clients wanting his unique beach-ready creations. His porch swings, dining tables, vanities and headboards have literally taken on a new life using recycled materials (old decks, pallets, beams, old rebar, rope, old fencing, etc.), his finished products fit right in with the local beach scene. All of Brett’s furniture rests comfortably both inside a home and on the porch. 

Brett realizes and is thankful for the current uptake in housing construction. “All these new homes will need furniture and my style of furniture-making seems to be what the client wants to decorate with”, says Brett. 

His work can be viewed at various South Walton retailers including Beau Interiors and The Blue Giraffe. Word of mouth works well too as his custom requests are thriving. He can build to order and make furniture to fit any environment. He’s added zinc tops for tables and various metal works are incorporated into these items. Coffee tables, side tables, bed frames, you name it, he can build it. 

“People who come here want custom, one-of-a-kind pieces and that’s what I do”, says Brett.  

His clients wind up being his friends and he loves talking about the journey from a dumpster or demolished site to their home. Brett’s eyes widen as he scans his warehouse and it’s not hard for him to imagine what this or that pile of discarded wood will be. Only Brett knows for sure, but some lucky client will be on the receiving end and loving it.

Photos by Manny Chavez