Our Story

Built by people who know what it takes to bring great projects to life.

It started around A shared table…

We first met in 2015 while working together at a design-build firm in Napa Valley. Over the years, we collaborated on countless custom projects, solving problems, coordinating installations, reviewing shop drawings, and navigating the realities of complex construction schedules.

Along the way, one idea kept resurfacing.

What if there was a fabrication company that understood the project long before fabrication began?

One that communicated like a design studio, thought like a builder, and built with the craftsmanship of a dedicated shop.

That idea became Benchwork.

Our mission is to be the trusted fabrication partner behind exceptional custom projects.

Black and white round logo with a drawing of a bench and text surrounding that says, "Benchwork, Built Through Partnership."

Meet Your Team

More than a fabrication shop.

Benchwork exists to bridge the gap between design intent and execution.

Our backgrounds span interior design, construction management, project operations, development, and custom fabrication. Together, we've experienced projects from nearly every perspective, giving us a unique understanding of how custom work fits into the larger picture.

That perspective allows us to ask better questions, anticipate challenges earlier, and become a more valuable partner throughout the life of a project.

A man with glasses and a beard wearing a button-up shirt, looking down and smiling, standing against a dark wall.

Matt VUolo

Managing Director

Matt built his first piece of furniture at eight years old and sold his first at twelve. He’s been in a shop, design studio, or on a job site in some capacity ever since.

With an MFA in Industrial Design focused on furniture, Matt’s career has taken him from carpentry, furniture building, and guitar making to hospitality development and design management. At EDG, he managed design teams and developed FF&E for award-winning hospitality projects around the world. As a developer, he later sat on the client side of the table making decisions around budgets, timelines, and who gets hired to build what.

That range shapes how Matt approaches every Benchwork project. He understands what a great fabrication partner should feel like because he’s experienced the process from nearly every side.

Outside the shop, Matt is a husband and father of two, an avid gardener, Little League coach, and Chairman of his children’s School Site Council.

A woman with long curly red hair, wearing a black top, a brown blazer, and leopard print pants, standing against a dark blue wall, smiling with one hand on her hip.

Kat Oldershaw

Director of Operations

Kat has spent more than a decade behind the scenes of creative businesses, making sure ambitious ideas actually make it from concept to completion.

Her background spans interior design, custom furniture, fine art, project management, and studio operations, giving her firsthand experience with the coordination required between designers, clients, vendors, builders, and fabricators. She is also the founder of kat&co and Back Office Design Support, where she provides operations consulting and flexible project support to interior design firms.

At Benchwork, Kat brings that experience to the way projects are managed from the first inquiry through installation. She oversees operations, communication, scheduling, and the many moving pieces behind the work, helping make sure your experience receives as much attention as the finished piece itself.

A man smiling and holding a cordless drill in a woodworking shop with wooden furniture and panels in the background.

Flip Filippelli

Director of Fabrication

Flip has spent more than 30 years building things and leading the teams that make them happen. His career has taken him through custom furniture and art fabrication, interior design, television and film production, scenic fabrication, and construction management.

He has led fabrication and construction operations for Disney+, Treehouse Fabrication, 41 Sets, and multiple interior design firms overseeing everything from estimating and materials to scheduling, shop teams, installation, and quality control. Across wildly different projects and industries, the common thread has always been the same: figure out how to build it, assemble the right people, and get it done well.

At Benchwork, Flip brings that hands-on experience to the shop floor, with an eye toward buildability, craftsmanship, problem-solving, and the details that make ambitious ideas work in the real world.

Four people smiling in front of a work area inside a warehouse or workshop, with tools, equipment, and wooden pieces visible in the background.
Four dogs sitting on a concrete floor indoors near a metal gate, with a red and white door behind them and a wooden wall on the right. One dog is black with a harness, another black and white with a fluffy face, a third black and tan with a long coat, and a small curly black dog with a pink collar and a leash.

Sadie, Lake, thea + Indy

Benchwork Welcoming Committee

The shop

CAlifornia made

This is where the building happens.

Our Napa shop brings our team, experience, and ideas under one roof. It’s where we work through the details, solve the inevitable challenges, and turn drawings and concepts into pieces ready for their final home.

Part workshop, part problem-solving studio, and very much the heart of Benchwork.

Inside a woodworking or carpentry workshop with unfinished wooden workbenches, tools, and equipment. The ceiling shows insulation and exposed ductwork, with a cat perched on a beam near a skylight.
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