Portraits by Madeleine Burgess | Furniture images by Matthew Bowie
Peter Dayton runs a white cloth across the surface of a plank of wood—slowly, almost lovingly—before tipping it up to present the intricate grain he has just uncovered.
“Gorgeous,” he utters.
On this day, the woodworker and shipwright behind Arotza Woodworks is collaborating with one of his creative partners, veteran-owned Three Forks Wood Reclamation. Three Forks exclusively sources historically significant timber from around the world to honor and preserve these materials. This piece originated at a significant World War II site in Normandy, France.
“Every remarkable piece of historic wood has two stories. The first is written by history. The second is written by the craftsman entrusted to carry it forward,” say founders Chris Kelley and Christian Knutzen. “Every timber we reclaim carries a story. Arotza Woodworks helps us preserve it. What makes Peter exceptional is not simply what he builds. It is the care, humility and respect he brings to every piece entrusted to him.”
Dayton crafts custom heirloom furniture here in St. Pete, from rustic to streamlined styles, using natural wood and traditional joinery techniques further refined during his time in the Basque Country of Spain. The word arotza, which Dayton chose for his business, means carpenter in Basque and pays homage to the place and culture that further influenced his approach to traditional woodworking.
“I love to work with locally felled and milled trees for many reasons. I also enjoy working with wood that has a story behind it—wood holds stories,” he explains. “Every piece I use has a history and I think that history adds beauty to our furniture. I use reclaimed wood as a way to draw attention to this source of wood and the stories it holds—stories of the past, present and future.”
He works with a variety of locally harvested southern magnolia and old-growth longleaf pine, as well as exotics like teak, Indian rosewood and curly African mahogany, often incorporating bronze inlay or quartz into pieces.
He grew up right here in Belleair, where he spent his time fishing, skimboarding, wakeboarding and surfing.
“My childhood was idyllic. The beaches and salt water were the nucleus of my past,” he recalls. “As far back as I can remember, I always loved building things with my hands. I made my first skimboard in middle school, started shaping surfboards in high school and taught myself basic cabinet-making and trim carpentry in my parents’ garage before graduating.”
Another early passion was inspired by a family connection and led him to explore the culinary arts.
“One of my uncles, with whom I am very close, used to own restaurants and my interest and passion for cooking came from time spent with him growing up,” Dayton explains. “My passion for it in my early 20s was intense and it was not uncommon for me to be making five-course meals four to five times a week for friends, family and neighbors.”
After graduating from the M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Dayton went to work for the Beck Group in Tampa.
“I had the opportunity to work on some incredible projects during my time with them,” he explains. “The Dalí and Ulele restaurant are two that stand out. After working for them for about eight years, I decided to explore my passion for the culinary world more seriously.”
In 2014, he moved to Spain and accepted an internship at Restaurante Arzak, a world-renowned, three-Michelin-starred culinary destination in San Sebastián that has been heralded as one of the world’s most innovative eateries.
“The experience was incredible, but when it concluded I decided that though cooking is a deep passion, I did not want to do it professionally,” he admits. “While living in San Sebastián I stumbled upon a museum at the mouth of an adjacent port town where a group of historians and shipwrights were building a replica of a 16th-century whaling ship. I began to volunteer there a few days a week and quickly became obsessed with the art of wooden boat building. Though I had done carpentry work in some capacity most of my life, the discovery of the art, skill and tradition of wooden boatbuilding hooked me like nothing else had before.”
His volunteering evolved into actual employment and he worked as a shipwright for the next five or so years.
“During that time, I also began building furniture in the shop at the museum in my free time,” Dayton explains. “I fell in love with using hand tools. Whether it is the sound a sharp hand plane makes when taking shavings from a board or the crispness of a mortise cut by and with a chisel, hand tool work is by far the most gratifying aspect of the craft. Most of the machinery in my shop would be considered ‘vintage,’ some of which is over 100 years old. They are heavy, reliable, not overly complicated and beautiful in their design and construction. They inspire and influence me to build pieces of furniture that will last as long as they have. In the shop you can expect sawdust, a lot of noise and handcrafted furniture that can be passed on to your grandkids’ grandkids.”
He likes to say that craft becomes a profession, but passion makes a life.
“It is good for the soul to create with your hands,” he asserts. “When I design, my goal is to create a piece that will stand the test of time. I avoid what I perceive to be short-lived fads and instead rely on classic lines and proper proportioning that will remain relevant even as trends change. Traditional wood joinery is at the heart of my work and is one of the most gratifying aspects of what I do. It is demanding, highly skilled work that is ironically largely unseen in the finished product. Even when hidden, it makes all the difference in creating excellent furniture.”
Not surprisingly, given his love for cooking, there’s one piece of furniture that he finds particularly satisfying to create.
“Dining tables are one of my favorite types of pieces to build,” he reveals. “They are a place where people gather to eat, drink, converse, laugh and make memories.”
Since returning to the area in 2021 and establishing Arotza, he has built a loyal clientele of private clients, interior designers, restaurants and hotels with whom he regularly collaborates. Interior designer Kathleen Boss was introduced to Dayton by another local master craftsman, Michael Bright, at Bright Wood Works.
“We collaborated on a custom dining table and sideboard for one of my own homes,” Boss explains. “I drew inspiration for both from a few pieces of furniture and combined those ideas into something that felt right for the house. Peter suggested using native southern magnolia for the table, which gave it a wonderful sense of place. It turned out beautifully.
“That’s what I love most about residential design—collaborating with talented local artisans and craftspeople. Whether it’s one of my own projects or a client’s home, it’s incredibly rewarding to see everyone’s expertise come together to create something unique.”
One of Dayton’s most unusual projects ties together several of his key passions. He was tasked to create a unique “boat-within-a-boat” bar feature for Craft, a low-profile dining river cruiser in Tampa. The bar is built directly into the aft deck and incorporates a repurposed 1914 wooden boat as part of its structure, centered on the open-air back deck of the vessel.
Dayton says he is technically a one-man show, always collaborating with other local artisans (metalworkers, finishers, artists) and designers. He prides himself on creating pieces that will stand the test of time with character and authenticity, encouraging clients to collaborate with him to create a custom piece that represents their vision.
“To me, crafting furniture is making functional art,” he shares. “I love the challenge of creating a piece that serves its function well and will still feel timeless in 20 years.”
Visit arotza.com to learn more.
