Life & Work with Sergei Parfenov of Longmont

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sergei Parfenov.

Hi Sergei, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Common Species started as a hobby and a love for design and woodworking. Around 15 years ago, I got an itch to start working with wood. It came from a friend of mine suggesting we make a table. The idea for some reason astounded me as something that just didn’t occur to me prior – that I can simply make a table instead of having to buy one. I started making desks, tables, and benches for the house, working with pine from box stores. When my wife was pregnant with our son five years later, I took on a more complex project of making a credenza that would serve as the baby changing table. Around that same time, I was becoming disheartened working doing video and design in the advertising world. A couple of years later, with the amazing support of my wife, I quit my job to start pursuing furniture. While I got more confident in the furniture trade, I did freelance video and design work to pay the bills. Slowly over the course of a few years, I transitioned to common species as the fulltime job and moved the studio out of my basement into a commercial space in Columbus, Oh. In 2023, my family and my studio moved to Longmont, Co that has instantly felt like home more than another place. Over the years I have been fortunate to have amazing clients and work on a vast range of projects that constantly keep me learning and growing.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road haha.
I have a friend who owns a very successful furniture company that makes furniture for very large brands across the Unites States. I met with him as I was quitting my job and he told me: Sergei, don’t go into furniture haha. And he probably wasn’t wrong – not that I would do it any different.

I imagine it is the same for any business making a high end design product, but getting in front of the right audience is tricky. Out of 10 inquiries I respond to, 9 are just silence, and often the 1 is also just a “beautiful but not now” haha.

I started doing Common Species as a labor of love and have a clear idea in my head of what I want the business to do and feel like. The goal is to stay small, so it is just me which presents logistical and physical difficulties.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Common Species is my one man furniture design studio.
I design and make handmade furniture in Longmont, Colorado.
The focus is custom work, though a lot of pieces have become collection pieces.
The approach is very much quality over quantity with pieces having the highest standard for craftsmanship, design, and attention to detail.
It’s hard to say what I am most proud of as I feel like I am constantly growing in all aspects of design and execution.
I don’t think of myself as being better than any other studio or designer, but I get positive feedback on design and craftsmanship, so hopefully there is something to it haha.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
With everything going on in a world right now, like for all other industries, there are lots of changes and shifts to navigate. It’s hard for me to predict where things will go and honestly, I try not to. I have a vision for what I want to do and keep doing. If it resonates with people and I am able to work then I am happy. If it does not well then it will have run its course.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://commonspecies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commonspecies/