Finnzarby Richwood

After honing his skills in a fine furniture diploma under Rowan Dicks (RD Furniture) followed by a year of industry level experience, Finn now runs a small design + make furniture studio (Zarby Designs) based out of a shared workshop space in Henderson, Auckland.
Conceptually driven, Finnzarby’s furniture pieces are explorative in form, and try to bridge the gap between practical craft and art. Processes such as steam bending and hand-shaping play a large part in his work to achieve this exploration.

“My goal is to create much more than just functional furniture items, but pieces that influence the feeling of the space they’re in. I would love a world where people go beyond being ‘not afraid’ to have expression in their homes, that they value and strive for it.”

Finnzarby grew up on the port hills of Ōtautahi Christchurch, on a small, family run vineyard. His parents both held other jobs, but the vineyard allowed them all to stay connected to the land and, more importantly, each other.
It was here that Finn’s father would hand him tools as he built sheds and dug trenches, fixed irrigation lines and ran fencing. He is thankful for the support of his curiosity - it was never a waste if he required irrigation parts to make strange fountains, and his requests to screw or cut various objects were met obligingly and without a question as to why.
He believes it was through this ability to play that he developed an aptitude for the physical world.
Many years later, it might surprise you to note that Finn did not follow a so called ‘practical’ path at all. An opportunity arose for him to study his first love - music. And so he, with three of his closest friends, studied Jazz for three years, and had the most incredible experience of what music could bring. And it was through this play, that he believes he developed a true appreciation for art. Perhaps the crux of it is exactly that - he endeavours to create at the intersection between practical craft and art.