Gabriel McKeagney's Darkfired Wood Products Are Inspired by His Northern Ireland Heritage

Gabriel McKeagney is first and foremost a storyteller. Specifically, telling the stories of the wood he repurposes into cutting boards, salad bowls and all things kitchen-related. But he wasn’t always building tools for the kitchen.

He grew up in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where he absorbed his family's legacy of coach-building, woodworking and storytelling in their small village. He spent time in London, New York and San Francisco doing architectural preservation before settling into Southern California for 30 years. In that time he manufactured coastal, high-end residential furniture, securing awards for his designs and furniture pieces.

The design of an Irish bar in Chicago brought him east two years ago, and he quickly fell in love with the treescapes, barns, rain and lush rolling hills of Tennessee. But the terrain wasn’t the only thing he loved. The tobacco barns, hardwood trees and respect for the land and all that grows on it drew him to Nashville specifically.