Patrick - furniture maker

Patrick Blake is the founder and co-owner of B10 Union, a woodworking, metal fabrication, and custom finishing collective, located in Atlanta off Memorial Drive (just down the road from our future second location!) B10 creates custom pieces for residential and commercial spaces with a vast portfolio that includes notable Atlanta fixtures like Watchman's, Golden Eagle, and Boccalupo. Patrick began woodworking and making furniture as a passion project but took the leap to pursue it full time after his first independent job - creating pieces for the Three Taverns tasting room, The Parlour. He took the deposit from that job, opened up a shop and purchased machinery, and B10 was born. Find out more about Patrick below in our fifth installment “The Proud”, where we highlight instrumental folks doing great things in the city of Atlanta. 

What lead you to start B10 and what is your day-to-day role with B10?
What got me here was a desire to create and problem solve. Owning a furniture making / design business in the one-off custom world means we get a new puzzle on a daily basis. Planning to start a business was never part of it. I was just doing what I enjoyed and the rest just happened. B10 Union started organically through friendships and previous working relationships. We were pulled together under one roof in the Metropolitan (Suite B10) that could not be fully utilized by myself alone. Sharing shop space, machinery and jobs made it possible for a bunch of small companies to survive in the beginning. Fast forward 6+ years, B10 now consists of Matt Hicks (founding member / owner) and me, but we now have 7-10 rockstars that can create some killer pieces and work side-by-side with us on a daily basis.

Roles have changed a bunch over the years. Currently you’ll find me more in the showroom, trying to read architectural plans, pounding on the email machine, meeting with clients and designing. A lot has to be put together these days before it ends up in the shop to be fabricated.

How did you first get into woodworking?
I started some in my dad’s garage when I was left unsupervised. Many thanks to him for providing the tools to get the wheels turning. While in grad school I spent a lot of time in the College of Architecture shop and really developed a love for woodworking. It was at that time I had the privilege of getting a summer internship with a well-known furniture designer in Atlanta, learning the right way to fabricate furniture. The rest is history - finished grad school at Tech, didn’t use the degree I paid a lot of money for, and worked for several furniture companies until it was time to do my own thing.

Can you tell me about your background and where you grew up and what brought you to Atlanta?
I was born in California, did my elementary and middle school stint in South Florida, then high school and college in the Foothills of North Carolina. Did the average kid things, played a lot of sports, rode a lot of bikes, did a bunch of board sports. As soon as I was done with undergrad, I moved to Atlanta for no good reason and with no intentions. Now I’ve been here 13 years, the longest I’ve lived in one city. In those 13 years I’ve gone to grad school, which was never intended, married an (OG) Atlantan, had 2 kids in Atlanta, and started a business here.

What are the most satisfying parts of your job?
Most satisfying parts of my job A) Getting to work with kickass people and collaborate…from all the guys in the shop, to the award-winning designers and architects we work on projects with, to the awesome client base we get to build things for and create relationships with. B) Is to make an idea in 2D come to life. “B” still blows my mind every day.

What are you most proud of in your personal life? What about your professional life?
In my personal life, my family. I’m proud of my kids as I watch them turn into real people and good people at that. In my professional life, most proud of the team of guys I get to work with. They take a lot of pride in their craft, communication and relationships and that makes me proud.

What does it mean to you to be a “Champion of your craft”?
To be a champion at anything you have to put forth your best effort. At B10 nothing leaves our shop if it is not the best we could have done. It will get rebuilt and reworked until we are proud to stand behind our craft. I think that makes everyone here a champion. We wear our pride on our sleeve.

What are your interests outside of your career?
Outside of work I enjoy good food and good drinks, especially in the spaces around Atlanta we got to help create. On the weekends I chill in the baby pool in the backyard with my kids, play a little old man neighborhood softball, or post up at the Benz to cheer on the 5-Stripes.

What part(s) of Atlanta have you lived in?
Upon first moving to Atlanta I lived in Cabbagetown, then I lived in Kirkwood for a couple of years before settling down and making East Atlanta Village our home for the past nine years.

Do you have a favorite piece of furniture you've made?
Going to be cliché on this answer because it’s true…the next one. Always passionate and excited about the next piece I am going to build, and as soon as I finish, it’s my favorite until I start the next one.

Most under appreciated piece of furniture?
A killer 9ft steel, ash, brass, fluted glass and leather console I made. It’s beautiful but I made it for myself (which never happens) but it sits tucked away in our family room covered in toys.

Most overrated piece of furniture?
Anything made with “rustic” barnwood…luckily this fad is about over.

What type of wood do you wish you had more access to?
Access has never really been an issue for us. There are tons of species out there that I have never worked with or probably even heard about, that I would like to experiment with. New mediums are always fun.

Are you involved in any organizations or non-profits either in your industry or outside of it?
None related to our industry. There is not really a network for custom furnituremakers in Atlanta, besides hanging out with other woodworkers and cracking a beer from time to time. That and passing on jobs to each other when we feel like what the client is looking for is a better fit for another fabricator. We did have our five year anniversary party last year and we donated the proceeds to The Giving Kitchen. We also sponsored a 5k in East Atlanta that benefited my daughter’s school. Outside of the industry, we are members of Village Church of East Atlanta and are involved in our kids’ schools. We also try to stay invested in the Village as much as possible, volunteering for the Strut and other neighborhood events.

What do you love about Atlanta?
Food, people, neighborhood pride, and Atlanta United.

What would you like to see change?
Downtown, bike-ability, public transportation, humidity.

What is something that gets you rowdy?
I can get pretty rowdy listening to a good show at The Earl or other nearby neighborhood venues some nights.

What makes you proud?
I’m proud of my wife. She is amazing and passionate about what she does. I don’t really know what she does but watching her scale that corporate ladder the way she does is super impressive. Then she comes home and loves our family hard.

What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I’ve laid some tracks on a hip-hop album back in the day.