About Us

About KHEM Studios

KHEM Studios is a design and woodworking studio in the Hudson Valley, New York, founded by Erik Guzman and Kari Lorenson. What started as a shared obsession with material and form has become a studio practice built around one idea: the objects you use every day should be worth caring about.

Every KHEM board is crafted from solid American hardwood — walnut, cherry, maple, and ebonized ash — sourced from domestic mills and shaped in our studio. No veneers. No composites. No shortcuts. Just honest material, sculpted to last.

We make boards that people actually use. They get pulled out for Tuesday night dinner and for Thanksgiving. They collect knife marks and oil patina and the quiet evidence of meals shared. That's the whole point. A KHEM board isn't precious — it's present.

The name KHEM is a family acronym. The interlocking joint in our mark represents how we think about everything we make: two forms meeting with intention, each one stronger because of the other.

Our work has been recognized by Architectural Digest, Oprah, The New York Times, House Beautiful, Martha Stewart, and Real Simple. We sell directly through our studio, online, and through select retailers nationwide via Faire.

When we're not in the shop, we're probably cooking on the boards.

Erik Guzman & Kari Lorenson Hudson Valley, New York