Apr 30, 2026

Michael Pietragalla is an artist, craftsman, and furniture maker based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He owns and operates Floating Stone Woodworks, a custom furniture studio specializing in handcrafted tables, bookcases, consoles, benches, case pieces, and restoration work. Each piece is individually built, signed, and dated, using carefully selected hardwoods such as quarter-sawn white oak, cherry, maple, and walnut. Pietragalla’s path began in fine art. He earned a BFA in painting from the Swain School of Design in 1972, later worked as a carpenter, and became involved in set design and construction for theater groups across southern New England. After studying at Massachusetts College of Art, he taught photography and graphic design to inner-city youth before turning more fully toward finish carpentry and furniture making. Since 1997, Pietragalla has created custom furniture from his studio in New Bedford. His work reflects a blend of classical studio training, architectural thinking, and Asian design sensibilities. He is especially drawn to tables, which he describes almost as small buildings: legs as posts, aprons as rafters, and the tabletop as a roof. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and is held in private collections throughout the United States.