For 13 years, Method & Concept defined contemporary art and collectible design presentation from a sleek minimalist space in Downtown Naples. Then founder Chad Jensen decided to shake things up. By transitioning operations to a 55,000-square-foot working campus on Rail Head Boulevard in North Naples, Jensen has embraced an uncommon atelier model that places raw materials, master craft, and the making process at the center of client engagement.
While the front entrance of the new address maintains the serene, elevated frontage of a traditional gallery, moving further in reveals a multi-building working facility operated alongside the parent company, Thomas Riley Artisans’ Guild. The quiet reverence of static viewing gives way to the kinetic energy of an active workshop where patrons can “witness artisans handcrafting furniture, engineers developing shop drawings, finishers perfecting surfaces, and makers transforming raw materials into one-of-a-kind pieces,” Jensen notes. “The response has been incredible. Clients often describe it as getting a peek behind the curtain, seeing not just the finished product but the craftsmanship, collaboration, and expertise required to create it.”
Instead of just selecting off-the-floor showroom inventory, collectors engage directly with sensory procurement. They can touch raw grain patterns, inspect timber species, and review specialized coatings before making any purchase decisions. For one client, an entire generational writing desk was sculpted from a single slab of 4-inch-thick mahogany; for another, a custom cabinet evolved from the organic rhythm of sea turtle tracks.
Jensen, who holds a degree in craft from Detroit’s College for Creative Studies and studied under functional sculpture pioneer Maxwell Davis, grounds the studio in the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. Where automated machinery might scan a board and reject a natural knot as a flaw, Jensen’s artisans view organic variations as essential marks of character. This tactile approach extends to Jensen’s personal studio work, which includes benches with custom green ceruse finishes and sculptural furniture in cast plaster.
By all accounts, Method & Concept’s new model is working. After replacing formal seasonal openings with private presentations and intimate salons, the space now caters to clients seeking intentional interactions—and those are the types of clients who become longtime customers. By championing master craftsmanship, the gallery produces heirloom-quality pieces meant to carry stories forward.
“When something is made by hand, you can feel the presence of the maker because of the connection and intention embedded in the process, and that is difficult to replicate,” says Jensen. “That’s design with soul.”
Story Credits:
Text by Stephanie Davis Smith
Photos courtesy of Method & Concept
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