Our story

Hey everyone! My name is TJ Howard.  My wife and I are both full-time teachers raising our kids in Richardson, TX.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to make things.  Playing with legos, drawing and coloring, taking ceramics and art classes in school, cooking, and really anything that involved building or making things from scratch have always grabbed my interest.  

Shortly before I got married, I began noticing how expensive good furniture can be.  I wanted to be able to fill our new home with everything on my wife's wish list, but could not justify the cost.  And so, I decided to try building it all myself.

Over the last few years, I have built my workshop and my skill set.  I have been helping friends and family with the same goal as me: to build high quality, completely customized furniture for ourselves.

A few years ago, we got to a point where we could finally start sharing our work.  I came up with our brand, Shop Dog Woodworking, in honor of Lola, the one who spends the most time with me out in the workshop (as long as it is not too hot, or too cold, or too loud, or too quiet, or too dusty, or if a squirrel just happens to pass by, etc.).

We love being able to provide our customers with the excitement of receiving beautiful heirloom quality furniture that perfectly fits each space in their homes. Please browse the website and see what we have been working on.  

​If you find something you love and want for yourself, send us a message and we will put a plan together for you.  If there is something you have in mind, but do not see it on the site, email us anyway!  Send pictures of what you want or pictures of your design inspiration, and we will do our best to get you exactly what you are wanting.  We specialize in making things completely customized to fit your needs.  

You can also check out the Store, where you can find some comfortable shirts and hats (possibly more items to come) along with some other smaller home goods.  Support a couple of teachers and get a comfy shirt!