HarlemBuilt is owned and operated by Ray Franks.  Raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Ray took to woodworking at an early age.  At the age of four, his mother bought him a workbench, hammer, saw, and brace and bit.  Together, they used to refinish antique furniture they would gather from local garage sales.  These pieces, left for nothing, turned out to be gems.  In 1989, Ray moved to Harlem to continue his work as a professional musician, playing the saxophone with such groups as The Lionel Hampton Orchestra and in numerous Broadway productions.  But Ray never abandoned his passion for building. With limited space, tools and money, Ray would furnish his apartment with both repaired and refinished old furniture as well as hand crafted items.  And his friends began to notice.  Suddenly he began to make items for his friends and family such as loft beds, surfboard racks, tables and shelves for records, audio components and books.  As his shop grew, he immersed himself in woodworking, learning the finer details of furniture making.   And that was how HarlemBuilt was born.

With the opening of HarlemBuilt in 2008, Ray has now decided to dedicate all his creative energy to building high quality, handcrafted, custom designed wood furniture.  His shop in Harlem is well equipped to do a variety of jobs, from milling lumber to fine detailed hand-tool work.  Ray lives with his wife, three children and three surfboards, and when not in his shop or with his family playing soccer, he can be found surfing at the local beaches.