Officially founded in 2011, Mez Works Furniture was created by Terren Gomez-West with the very first projects being designed and created out of his home garage in South Lake Tahoe, California. Terren’s background as a professional action sports and landscape photographer leant him a particularly keen eye for aesthetic, which transitioned well into furniture making as well as being able to capture a “feeling” when photographing his furniture creations. Becoming a woodworker and craftsman was always part of Terren’s destiny, learning much of his skill from his uncle Richard (the original “Mez”) who owns/operates a custom furniture and cabinetry business on the island of Kauai, as well as being taught the basics of carpentry by his father and his step father from the time he was very young until venturing off on his own. At the young age of 26, Terren decided to “retire” from pursuing his career in action sports photography and set out to start his own company, Mez Works Furniture. Now 12 years later, Terren’s business has grown from the small grass-roots garage operation in which it originated from to a fully operational 3000 sq/ft workshop with an incredibly skilled crew, with more than 800 unique pieces handmade and delivered nation-wide.

Allie met Terren in 2011 and they began their life’s journey together. Allie’s background included 10 years in regional sales, marketing and event coordination in the action sports industry. After observing Terren’s incredible skill and craft in woodworking her interests grew to a fondness for design and an eagerness to learn how to build things. Soon after moving Mez Works to it’s first commercial location, Allie walked away from her career in the action sports industry and spent 2 years apprenticing and assisting Terren in the workshop, learning basic woodworking skills such as resin work and finish work, refining procedures and protocols for better build efficiency, and helping to grow the business through customer service and project management. Her focus eventually shifted more toward preliminary design work and she soon transitioned to becoming lead designer for new prototypes to add to the Mez Works’ furniture collection, becoming skilled in digital design programs focusing on structural and functional design efficiency, as well as website development. She returned to the workshop with full force in 2023, back to assisting with builds and helping ramp up production.