Objects of her fabrication: a cotton-upholstered ottoman on a reclaimed pine frame with casters, Mason jar pendants, and an oil-stained reclaimed-pine dining table with raw steel legs
 

Sometimes it seems as if Chicago’s furniture-making community is a 30-something boys’ club, but Whitney Gaylord is an exception. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago grad, part-time librarian, and all-around I-can-make-that gal wields a power tool with the best of them. Her claim to fame was the charming DIY Mason jar light fixture she demonstrated to readers of the popular blog Design Sponge a few years back, but the new stars are her no-fuss, steel-and-reclaimed-wood pieces. Out of her Logan Square workshop, she offers “a personal connection and creative collaboration” at big-box prices. Sounds good to us. whitneygaylord.com