Artist Ngoc Vo

“I learned to read wood before I learned to read words. Some things just come first.”

Ngoc Vo grew up in her grandfather’s woodworking shop, where she was taught that the hands should understand before the eyes even notice. That philosophy still shows in the way she works today.

She’s the craftswoman behind many of Ashdeco’s tree bookshelves and wall tree shelves - pieces that require turning a straight block of wood into branches that feel naturally grown instead of artificially designed. It’s delicate work, somewhere between sculpture and stubbornness.

Customers often ask her how the branches end up looking “so real.”

Ngoc Vo usually smiles and says, “Because I’m not trying to make it look real. I’m trying to make it be real.”