1 of 6
Megan Cencula
2 of 6
Megan Cencula
3 of 6
Megan Cencula
4 of 6
Megan Cencula
5 of 6
Megan Cencula
6 of 6
Megan Cencula
Right before the launch of Ausden Inc in 2012, Nashville was hitting its upward trajectory—and masses of both new residents and new businesses were about to descend on Music City.
Ryan Surratt, owner and CEO of the wood and design company, smartly recognized a need and rolled up his sleeves.
“I wasn't always a furniture builder,” Surratt says. “My grandfather and my family down in Memphis have always built furniture growing up, so I was always around it. It was not something I immediately started doing. It was a journey.”
Surratt’s focus since the start has been on sourcing materials locally and creating truly unique pieces. Ausden Inc prides itself on the fact that when sourcing wood, steel, or any other design material, they try to stay within a tight, 20-mile radius of Nashville. Hardwoods like walnut, ash, and maple are always local, too.
Surratt’s design process is client-propelled, but for each project, he tries to incorporate design elements that flow seamlessly with the neighborhood where the finished piece will live. Most recently, Ausden Inc has partnered with the Broadstone Group, constructing larger-than-life pieces to go in their Germantown, 8th Avenue South, and Gulch apartment complexes.
“For us, as furniture builders and designers, it's important to be able to pick up on the sense of town that we are in and how we can put in some elements from the past,” Surratt explains.
For example, to fit in with Germantown’s European heritage, Surratt chose Scandinavian designs with crisp, clean lines.
Right now, Suratt’s team is working on pieces for Broadstone’s Gulch complex, including a leasing desk, a large-scale conference table, light fixtures, and outdoor tables with seamless copper tops. Still to be determined: How to get a large, second conference-style table into the complex’s sky lounge.
Although it was a few key architect partners who gave Ausden Inc its start on commercial projects five years ago, residential work is now the company’s bread and butter.
“It's the backbone of what we started as a company,” Surratt says.
He says his team does a number of custom tables for residential homes, and has shipped them all across the country.
Originally working from an old garage off Charlotte Avenue, Surratt and his team packed up shop and moved to their current workshop off of 51st Avenue in The Nations three years ago—and they’re already experiencing growing pains. Surratt anticipates having to double in size by next year.
Made up of three full-time employees and five part-timers, Ausden Inc’s small size keeps overhead low and allows them to keep prices low for customers.
Plus, it allows Surratt to remain firmly rooted in his workshop, covered in sawdust, sleeves rolled up.