MEDINA, Minn. -- Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has announced the winners of the #RocklerDeskChallenge. This contest asked creators and builders to craft desks designed for at-home working and learning.

The contest launched in September 2020, and generated 575 desk submissions and more than 1,500 social media posts from woodworkers all over North America.

The first-place winner was Max Poindexter, of Keizer, Oregon, who built 99 desks during the challenge and is donating them to kids who need places to work from home during the pandemic. Poindexter says his project took approximately 100 hours and he is now working on building more desks for local families.

“When gearing up to build a new desk, I started thinking about all the kids out there without an area of their own to work from, which led me to trying to come up with a way I could help,” said Poindexter. “I drew inspiration from the old-school desks I grew up using, and I wanted to design something that was going to be very simple to make so others could build them as well with limited tools.”

Poindexter’s work has now inspired Rockler to continue this goodwill program through #RocklerDesksForKids, a drive to encourage woodworkers to build and donate at least 200 desks for kids. The first 200 builders who post a photo of their desk using the hashtag and note how they will donate the desk will receive a $50 Rockler gift card for their participation.

“Mr. Poindexter’s selfless efforts inspired us to do more,” said Scott Ekman, Rockler VP of Marketing.  “Our goal is to spread the word and give good-hearted woodworkers like Mr. Poindexter an extra incentive to participate.”

To support desk builders for the #RocklerDesksForKids drive, Rockler has published several free plans for building kids desks, including the winning design from Poindexter. Downloadable plans and instructions for participating in the #RocklerDesksForKids program can be found online at: https://www.rockler.com/kids-desk-plans-diy

The #RocklerDeskChallenge was hosted and judged by woodworking YouTubers Mike Montgomery, Chris Salomone and Ben Uyeda from The Modern Maker Podcast.  The other two winners this year were:

2^nd place winner — $250 Rockler gift card

Blake Hernandez, Glenview, Illinois

View his entry: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaxTi_nC0x/

3^rd place winner — $125 Rockler gift card

Mike Muldoon, Elmira, New York

View his desk entry: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHtRjJHjtrZ/

To view more photos and entries visit https://www.rockler.com/desk-challenge or search Instagram for #RocklerDeskChallenge.