Hubel Handcrafted Interiors’ name reflects owner Brian Hubel’s passion for doing one-of-a-kind pieces with a hands-on approach.

Custom furnituremaker Brian Hubel of Colorado Springs, CO, says he is doing exactly what he wants — enjoying the hands-on quality of working with wood to create beautiful pieces of furniture or architectural millwork. And whether the millwork is for a room or an entire house, he only accepts projects that he finds interesting.

His projects start with a mental image and a rough sketch, he says. “Knowing that the piece will experience many transformations, I rarely draft detailed plans. You never know when inspiration may strike.”

His aim is to create pieces that are visually appealing, functional and will withstand the test of time. “The piece should stand on its own, graceful, something you never tire of viewing,” he says, adding that he is attracted to clean lines, simple design and tight construction.
A home in a gated community called Kissing Camel in Colorado Springs is a recent example of his architectural millwork and his graceful, clean lines. It earned his company, Hubel Handcrafted, an Honorable Mention in this year’s CWB Design Portfolio Awards.

For the project, Hubel used a combination of quartersawn mahogany with ebonized ash for strapping and caps, and solid ebony for all pegs and inlays. The play of dark wood as an accent against a light wood is a design signature look for him, he notes.

Hubel says he was intrigued by the project in Kissing Camel because he could tell from the beginning that he was going to be given a great deal of design freedom. “It was obvious that there was nothing ‘standard’ about
the house. Everything was custom and challenging,” he says.

Hubel Handcrafted gets 60 percent of its business from word-of-mouth. The remainder is generated by advertising, Web presence, direct mailings and gallery sales. Last year the company showed in three woodworking exhibitions; one at the Denver International Airport, one in Steamboat Springs, CO, and one at the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs. Additionally, Hubel is represented by two galleries in New Mexico, the Shidoni Foundry in Santa Fe and the Lo Fino in Taos.

Remarkably, at least in Hubel’s mind, the company has experienced a surge of new business from its Web site, www.hubelhi.com. Among the more striking pieces featured on the site are a bubinga buffet and the “Bakers Table,” shown at right. Hubel credits the Web site with bringing new clients from as far away as California and Seattle, WA.

Hubel's wife, Kathy, takes care of administrative details for the business. She says, “Because of the calls from out-of-state, we’ve decided to take the business to the next level. Looking at a long-term plan, it is time to put more money into advertising and look into potentially stronger markets outside of our direct area. We currently are looking into some architectural and upscale design magazines that would allow us to get into a regional or national market.”

Hubel’s work for a home in the Kissing Camel community in Colorado Springs included paneling in an oval-shaped dining room, done in mahogany plywood.