Who’s Luz de Mano?

Hi, I’m Jorge Rafael Moawad, woodworker. Or George, either way, I spell it both ways so we can say it both ways. It all started when I wanted to make my own furniture. I was in a dorm apartment, with dorm furniture, and I just couldn’t live like that. Or maybe it started before then. For fun as a kid, I designed and crafted models out of wood and string. Made my own skate ramps and hideouts, too. I did not think it was a career option, though, until after college and after a few years in the corporate world, and after getting depressed because all I really wanted to do was make furniture.

To build the skills, build the confidence, build the brand, it all took some time. In my mid twenties, I committed myself to the practice of designing and handcrafting furniture with minimal restraints. Creativity has always been the priority, the cause of my rebellion. So, I became a math teacher, bought a house, built my workshop, and spent all my vacation time making sawdust and experimenting with design. After a decade of delivering math instruction, the wild woodworker in me couldn’t be tamed with just short summer breaks anymore. In 2014, I dropped out of school to be a real furniture maker.

Tracing my journey from project to project, the parallel pursuits of mastery and purpose are constant. I hope those qualities show through on your look around my website. Much of what’s included in the collection were commissioned pieces, and would not have been imagined without the clients’ stories. That’s Luz de Mano’s pursuit of purpose, renewed with every commission. Feel free to reach out via phone, text or email if you have a project in mind. Happy to see how our pursuits can meet.

If you’re wondering about the name, it surfaced many years ago when I went searching for a brand identity. “Luz” is energy, inspiration, light. And it’s the name of the seraphim serving as my logo, a feminine creative force. “de Mano” means I make it all by hand. Luz de Mano is the creative force coming through our hands.

My home studio workshop is in Pomona, California. Available for commissions and collaborations everywhere.