Shaun Beall picked up woodworking around 10 years ago with the express purpose of making himself a record cabinet. “I inherited my parents’ collection of classic rock albums and wanted a cabinet that didn’t exist,” he recently told Forbes. “So I decided to buy some tools, watch a lot of YouTube, and try building what I had envisioned.”

Beall has always delighted, he explained, in the rituals of playing physical records with family and friends: carefully handling the vinyl, poring over album cover artwork. As he saw it, the perfect record cabinet was part of the ritual, too—something that could really elevate the experience of enjoying music.

That first build blossomed into a passion. “I enjoy learning and having agency over the things around me. I cherish the process of translating my imagination into the physical world. Coupling all of that with my love for music is such a natural fit.”

At the time, Beall still had an unrelated corporate day job; building furniture was still a hobby and side hustle. In 2019, he and his wife decided to give it a go full-time, founding Tactile Audio Furniture.

“We haven’t looked back.”

Today, Beall and a small team of craftsmen create custom audio furniture in a workshop overlooking the tree-covered mountains of Evergreen, Colorado. They collaborate with clients to design unique pieces that work for the room, the collection, the gear and the clients’ taste. The guiding philosophy is simple: “We love music as much as you do.”

“A music collection is a profoundly rich and personal roadmap of our life experiences and relationships,” said Beall. “Our mission is to design functional audio furniture that makes your music look as good as it sounds.”

It’s not just about aesthetics, either. “Audio furniture is unique in that we are aligning form with more technical considerations like acoustics, vibration isolation, load distribution and cable management,” said Beall. “It’s so gratifying when it all comes together and we spin that first album on one of our pieces.”

The ultimate fulfillment, though, comes from creating pieces “that bring real joy and connection to people.”

Beall knew that the side hustle was really taking off when he landed a major commission from superstar DJ Diplo: “an insane custom piece” for his predictably massive vinyl collection, the largest project Tactile Audio had taken on to that point. “I still grapple with imposter syndrome, and that project was one of those moments when I felt we had really arrived.”

One of the highlights of the work, for Beall, has been a collaboration with Denver-based vintage HiFi gear specialists Aural HiFi. “It’s been incredible building furniture to pair with vintage pieces from the golden era of HiFI design. The idea that we’re designing furniture that will be the throne for a 50-year-old tube amp that’s been fully restored is just incredible. It’s a thrill creating timeless furniture pieces that blur the lines between vintage and modern.”

As you might imagine, the workshop has a very active soundtrack. Beall and his team—who also moonlight as musicians around town—have even created a series of Spotify playlists made up of “tracks that keep us moving.”

“Of course, we have a legit PA speaker setup,” said Beall. “Hundreds of albums are strewn around with music constantly playing. We cover a lot of musical ground.” You might hear Cat Power or Valerie June in the morning, Grateful Dead or SAULT at lunch and Nas or LCD Soundsystem to finish up the day, said Beall. “It’s just a great vibe of like-minded folks creating furniture, rocking tunes, talking about music and enjoying life.”