Joshua Barraza
Patrick Kelly in his shop.
Growing up in Spring Green, Patrick Kelly was inspired by the beautiful architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, but he quickly discovered during a stint at architecture school that sitting at a desk wasn’t his style. Instead, he used what he learned about woodworking from several carpenter mentors and his study of historic preservation to combine his two loves and develop his own business, Matchless Made. Kelly sells a variety of “contemporary, minimalist household goods” through his Etsy site: Handmade wooden items include a cutting board with a convenient knife storage slot, knife racks, iPad stands and cribbage boards.
Kelly sources the wood he uses — walnut, cherry, spalted maple, salvaged southern yellow pine and Douglas fir — from within a 50-mile radius of Madison. “We’re lucky to be in such a beautiful, hardwood-rich area here in southwestern Wisconsin, and the Midwest in general,” says Kelly. “I try to keep it as simple as I can to show the natural beauty inherent in the wood.”
Kelly points out how the cross-sections of the wood often have unusual patterns in the growth rings, and he features these in his work. Kelly also creates custom furniture: beds, tables, shelving and storage units. One, the “origami” chair, is inspired by the proportions and angles in some Wright-designed furniture.
Tracy Harris, Joshua Barraza, and Patrick Kelly
Tap handles at Rockhound Brewing, the salvaged walnut counter at El Grito, and a newel post.
Kelly has also completed several commercial projects. He made tap handles, beer flight holders and check presenters for Rockhound Brewing when the restaurant debuted in 2016. This summer, he installed a custom-made salvaged walnut counter on El Grito Taqueria’s food truck and created tap handles and tabletops for the newly-opened Funk Factory Geuzeria taproom on the city’s south side.
The other arm of Kelly’s business is vintage restoration. He enjoys rebuilding historic homes, concentrating on windows (usually rotted from weathering) or architectural details like newel posts and stair railings. This might involve rehabbing what’s there, or re-creating something new from scratch. Newel posts, for instance, he has made anew, shaping the wood with a lathe.
Kelly considers it a fun challenge to match the wood and design of the original pieces. He likes to use materials that will last, and need less maintenance in the long run.
“A lot of contractors aren’t willing to do restoration work because it’s more complicated,” Kelly says, “but I like the simplicity in it because you’re following the lead of the original guy who did it. I try to put things back the way they were… making your old house work the way it was originally meant to.”
Matchless Made/Patrick Kelly, 608-588-5383, matchlessmade.com
