Chelsie Lopez
Brianne Rasmussen spent the early years of her professional career in corporate accounting for Best Buy but always felt something was missing. “I started spending time in local vintage shops, hunting for pieces with a story and repurposing them,” she recalls. She then began designing her own pieces from scratch and it sparked a newfound passion. “That’s when I knew I had to make a choice: Do I stay in corporate or pursue my passion for furniture design?”
Rasmussen handed in her notice and never looked back. She launched Timber & Tulip, a custom woodworking and furniture company in 2016 housed within Northeast Minneapolis’ Northrup King Building, and success led her to opening a retail space in downtown Wayzata in 2023. This summer, she closed the retail outlet and opened a new showroom and studio back where it all began at the Northrup King Building. “I’ve seen the demand for more artistry, connection, and collaboration, and in order for Timber & Tulip to continue to thrive, we need to invest in a space that centers those values,” she explains.
As she embarks on this new chapter, Rasmussen showed Midwest Design the new space and shared what keeps her inspired and motivated to create one-of-a-kind pieces for clients.
Tell us more about the new showroom and studio.
The space is designed to work in two distinct ways. The front is a true showroom, with the Timber & Tulip collection front and center. It’s an open, welcoming environment where people can explore what we make and get a feel for the world of the brand. Then there’s the back room, a larger dedicated design studio where clients and trade partners come by appointment to work through a project together. That separation of space is intentional. When someone sits down with us back there, they get our complete focus and real-time collaboration. It’s less about browsing and more about the process of building something great, with our custom capabilities at the center of that conversation.
What keeps you inspired?
I’m at my creative best when I have time and freedom. There’s something about setting aside time to play, to imagine, to let ideas flow without a specific agenda. Exploring new designs, trying something that hasn’t been done before, and always coming back to the beauty of natural, organic materials—that’s my happy place. The designers and trade partners we work with are also a significant source of inspiration. When a homeowner or their designer comes in with a vision for a space, I get to design in unexpected ways as we work through the possibilities for a Timber & Tulip piece.
What trends are you seeing in woodworking and custom furnishing design right now? How do they reflect client preferences?
In a world that feels increasingly artificial and less human, there’s a real and growing appreciation for craft and the story behind a piece. Where the inspiration came from, where the materials were sourced, who made it, and how. That authenticity feels rare right now, and I think people are really responding to it.
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