Josh Carmody’s Lost Profit Workshop gives everyone the chance to create a future heirloom 

In a design landscape increasingly dominated by convenience and mass production, Melbourne-based designer-maker Josh Carmody is making a bold statement for craft, community and material integrity. His latest initiative, the Lost Profit Workshop, is more than a class, it's a repositioning of the designer’s role in shaping meaningful and enduring fine furniture. 

An internationally-awarded furniture designer with a reputation for refined, architectural forms, Carmody has developed a workshop experience that puts both the tools and the creative power directly into the hands of participants. Over a period of four to five days, individuals design and build their own dining table under his expert mentorship, using the same commercial machinery and traditional hand tools he uses in his professional practice.

The experience begins with a custom online design tool that guides users through a curated selection of typical design typologies such as four-legged or slab-based frames. This digital component allows for quick, accessible engagement while setting the foundation for a highly tactile, hands-on process in the workshop itself.

Material selection plays a pivotal role in the new venture. Participants work primarily with American white oak and American black walnut. These are species that Carmody uses in most of his work which he says provide structural integrity, beauty and workability.  

Using these as the base timber options for his new venture Carmody says is also ‘an appeal to a broad market’. “Many interior spaces base their timber aesthetic around a blonder, white oak palette or a darker walnut colour palette, so starting with these timbers means that we can cover a broad range of preferences simply” he states. “It’s also down to the fact that most respected furniture brands available commercially in Australia make furniture in these timbers, and I feel a new bespoke furniture experience that I offer with the Lost Profit Workshop should offer premium material as a standard” he adds.

Carmody’s approach is rooted in craft education. Participants gain practical knowledge in the fundamentals of working in solid wood, such as understanding seasonal movement which is critical part of designing in solid timber and is knowledge that has been lost by the consumer in the age of flat-pack assembly. He also teaches participants how to maintain their creation and repair if needed over time. 

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the Lost Profit Workshop is its emotional resonance. These are not just tables they are future heirlooms, vessels for family connection and daily ritual. Having created a number of pieces for his growing family, Carmody is aware of the role a table plays in family togetherness, especially one that is made by the end user. His motivation for a table he is currently making in American white oak and black walnut is “to bring the focus back to sitting down together as a family… to set some good routines and boundaries in place for when we sit down to eat together.” This is an ambition echoed by many participants in the new venture. 

In blending digital design tools, expert guidance, and quality American hardwoods, Josh Carmody is reinvigorating the idea of what it means to make and own furniture. The Lost Profit Workshop is a rare opportunity for participants to step into the role of maker and create something both deeply personal and professionally crafted.

Find out more about The Lost Profit Workshop HERE