Our Story…
In The Beginning
The Little Bench is an all-custom fine woodwork shop located on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Owner/Cabinetmaker, Jason Barry began making furniture nearly 30 years ago, following in the steps of his elder predecessors. Over a decade ago, Jason built his first French designed Roubo Cabinetmaker’s workbench starting completely from rough sawn timbers and only hand tools. The traditional mortise and tenon design and solid split top bench is a design that has not changed in nearly 300 years in cabinetmaker’s shops worldwide and hand-crafting one of these benches is considered a right-of-passage from carpenter to cabinetmaker by those in the trade.
The love of traditional hand-tool woodworking, along with the addition of the robust and versatile Roubo bench in the new shop would ignite a desire to begin offering clients custom versions of the French designed bench. Visitors to the shop would remark, “so that’s the famous little bench you can’t work without” and the business was founded. Today, that same Roubo Bench is still the most important tool in our shop.
The Little Bench focuses on all-custom projects for our clients. We have an extensive portfolio of work that really has no boundaries outside of your needs and imagination for woodwork in your special space.
We proudly specialize in creating the finest quality, traditionally crafted Butcher Block Countertops, Custom designed Kitchen Islands/Cabinetry as well as our Roubo Workbenches.
