Matthew grew up working on his family's farm in Iowa. After graduating high school he attended Wartburg College and graduated with a double major in Chemistry and Engineering.

Matthew began his career in the corporate world in 2007 as a chemical engineer moving to Memphis in 2010. After 8 years living in the corporate world, Matthew began to feel that there could be more to life than the money and benefits that had sold him on this lifestyle.  He began to look for a way out. He explored many options including his farming roots, but it just didn't seem to fulfill him. Then one day, while traveling home from a business trip, he saw an ad in an inflight magazine about turning trees into lumber. He was fascinated by this concept and began researching, exploring everything he could about his newly found obsession.  He discovered a very disturbing fact: Millions of trees are thrown in the landfill every year. Upon this discovery, Matthew resolved to save those trees and mill them into lumber, and seed was planted in his mind.

After reading and researching for months, he bought his first sawmill in 2012 and the seed of CityWood began to grow.  Working with local tree services, he started to mill logs into lumber. That passion for saving logs for a longer lasting purpose, transitioned into a further passion of building pieces of furniture that will be both beautiful and last for generations to come. This passion for wood working grew into the current mission of CityWood which is to create beautiful pieces of furniture from trees that were destined for less.

Matthew also has found a passion for teaching others the art of woodworking. He has the great gift of a talented staff of artists, designers, and craftsmen from varying backgrounds whom he teaches but learns from them as well.

Although Chuck has been accused of not being from this planet, he has lived in the South for most of his life. In his younger days he moved around quite a bit but since 2005 he has considered himself a Memphis resident. With a degree in Graphic Design and experience ranging from building guitars to building websites and everything in between, he fits right in with our eclectic crew. 

Chuck developed an interest in woodworking while he was in college, working as a guitar technician at St. Blues Guitar Workshop back in 2007. After pursuing several other interests over the years he finally found the opportunity to join our bands of merry woodworking hooligans.

Although Chuck's holds the title of "Marketing Director" he also does much of the hands-on work needed in the shop. His favorite step in the woodworking process is the design process. He enjoys making creative decisions and rendering detailed sketches of his designs to communicate his ideas to customers and the guys in the shop. He also likes sanding and shaping.

When Chuck is away from the shop he enjoys playing music, making art, playing rugby, and hanging out in Midtown.

David Leming was born in Jackson Tennessee. David has been woodworking since birth. He was raised by a loving family of healers and craftsmen and is devoted to his art and the well being of those around him. Seeking a life of hard work and little rest, he feels lucky to say that he's landed his dream job. Drawing from his experience as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, he possesses the leadership skills to get things done around here. David has served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn and is not afraid to tell it like it is. He strives to ensure the quality of every piece we make. 

David's favorite thing about working at CityWood is learning new woodworking techniques and teaching them to others. He believes in taking the time that it takes to make something right, the first time.

When not in the shop, he is a student at Memphis College of Art, Sculpture Major. Musician, skateboarder, soldier, nerd, small dark and handsome.