Out of this worldBeloved woodworker, artist and sculptor Steve Heller is a creative force that can’t be stopped

By Zac Shaw for Ulster Strong (photo by Zac Shaw)

There is nothing run-of-the-mill about Steve Heller’s showroom in Boiceville. It’s another dimension.

Stepping inside his Fabulous Furniture store is like falling into a retrofuturistic Wonderland. Giant slabs of live-edge wood are splayed out everywhere, chrome and paint glitters from every angle, and classic car parts affixed to welded scrapyard sculptures cast an illuminated glow. You’re surrounded by intricately detailed robots, aliens, humanoids – even the more mundane items like clocks, chairs, lamps and tissue boxes are irreverent pieces of art.

Steve Heller

“I’ve been doing it since I was a kid,” he says. “My father bought me a set of chisels and a mallet when I was 10. I bought my first car when I was 14. Took it apart and put it back together.”

Over the last 52 years, Heller has grown to become one of Ulster County’s most enduring and iconic custom furniture makers. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and countless other outlets. And yet, at 80, he still works 10–12 hours a day, six days a week, in the same shop where it all started, alongside a single employee, Mikey, who joined him over 30 years ago.

“I’m a maniac,” Heller says. “I love what I do, and I’m a lucky boy that I get to do it and make a living.”

Ulster County has long attracted artists of all kinds, but especially woodworkers drawn to our natural beauty and relative affordability. Along with access to hardwood forests and proximity to New York City, the area is fertile ground for custom woodworking.

Heller represents one end of a spectrum in the Hudson Valley’s custom furniture industry: the artistic, small-batch, deeply individual maker. The other end includes scaled operations with employees, marketing budgets, and distribution channels. Between those poles lies a quiet but substantial sector with growing potential, but also significant challenges.

Many custom woodworkers operate as one-person shops or with small teams. The work is physically demanding, space-intensive, and often driven more by artistic passion than scalability. Heller is unique in that his operation is totally vertical. He mills his own lumber, dries it in a self-built kiln, and whatever doesn’t fit in the store is stored across multiple buildings. “You couldn’t do this in New York City,” he says.

For artisans like Heller, growth is represented by creative evolution, not a bigger paycheck.

“We want to make a living at it,” says Heller. “But yeah, we spend too much time and get too into the details of every piece we make. That’s my work.”

Heller credits his wife Martha Frankel for handling the business side.

“From the day she came along, we started making money,” he says.

There are a handful of local woodworking companies which have grown into multi-employee studios or boutique brands, bridging the art/business divide. Some supply high-end retailers or take on corporate commissions.

But even scaled operations often hit a ceiling. The level of craftsmanship involved means automation is a challenge. Labor is skilled and hard to find. Space, while more available than in the city, isn’t cheap. And though the market for high-end, custom furniture is growing locally as more wealth enters the region, it’s still a niche product.

Despite boasting dozens of custom furniture designers and builders, the industry in Ulster lacks visibility. There is little data and economic study of the industry. There’s no central directory. No county-run promotional site. Organizations like the Mid-Hudson Woodworkers Guild and the Northeastern Woodworkers Association offer networking and education, but these are largely volunteer-led and not focused on economic development.

Yet there is growing interest. The pandemic-era explosion of well-heeled transplants has brought new customers, and with them, higher expectations around aesthetics and quality. Many homeowners want furnishings that reflect the character of their region, and they’ve got the means to pay for it.

Heller’s shop isn’t just a business. It’s a landmark. For longtime locals and weekend tourists alike, it’s a roadside monument to eccentricity and craft. His work has graced sculpture parks, galleries, and the sidewalks of local towns and cities. He’s done well for himself, but he never chased fame or riches.

“I had a friend years ago, he was a world famous artist and he gave it all up and moved to Puerto Rico,” he says. “We always talked about how if you want to be a famous big time artist, you have to work at being a famous, big time artist, you know?” he says.

That mindset may not be scalable into a multi-million-dollar business, but creative fulfillment is priceless. Ulster County’s custom furniture industry isn’t a monolith. It’s a mosaic of people like Heller, toiling tirelessly in workshops to turn raw materials into something useful and beautiful.

Asked if he plans to retire, he laughs. “Retire? What am I going to do, play golf? No. I’m going to do this until I can’t do it anymore.”