Melbourne-based designer and maker Josh Carmody is creating heritage through craft with his latest initiative, the Lost Profit Workshop. Carmody is repositioning the role of the designer in creating furniture, with classes for those eager to make their own objects.

Over a period of four to five days participants will design and build their own dining table under his expert tutelage, using the same commercial machinery and traditional hand tools used in his professional practice.

They will gain practical knowledge in the rudimentaries of working in solid timber, understand how it moves over time and with the seasons, and explore the process of maintaining the object.

The experience begins with a custom online design tool that guides users through a curated selection of typical design typologies such as four-legged or slab-based frames. This digital component allows for quick, accessible engagement while setting the foundation for a highly tactile, hands-on process in the workshop itself.

Material selection plays a pivotal role in the new venture primarily with American white oak and American black walnut the timbers of choice. These are species that Carmody uses in most of his work which he says provide structural integrity, beauty and workability.

With these timber options Carmody says there is also ‘an appeal to a broad market’. “Many interior spaces base their timber aesthetic around a blonder, white oak palette or a darker walnut colour palette, so starting with these timbers means that we can cover a broad range of preferences simply.” he states. “It’s also down to the fact that most respected furniture brands available commercially in Australia make furniture in these timbers and I feel a new bespoke furniture experience that I offer with the Lost Profit Workshop should offer premium material as a standard” he adds.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the Lost Profit Workshop is its emotional resonance. These are not just tables, they are future heirlooms, vessels for family connection and daily ritual.

Having created a number of pieces for his growing family, Carmody is aware of the role a table plays in family togetherness, especially one that is made by the end user. His motivation for a table he is currently making in American white oak and black walnut is “to bring the focus back to sitting down together as a family… to set some good routines and boundaries in place for when we sit down to eat together.”

In blending digital design tools, expert guidance, and quality American hardwoods, Josh Carmody is reinvigorating the idea of what it means to make and own furniture. The Lost Profit Workshop is a rare opportunity for participants to step into the role of maker and create something both deeply personal and professionally crafted.

More information about the Lost Profit Workshop is available here.

Timbers mentioned are from the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) who is a supporter of The Object category at the 2025 INDE.Awards.

Josh Carmody
joshcarmody.com.au

Photography
Courtesy of Josh Carmody