Address: 4531 Osuna Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109   |   Hours: Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  |   Phone: 505-344-1994

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About Us

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Ernest Thompson

Paying Homage To Design Traditions For Over
30 Years

While it is easy to admire Ernest Thompson products for their beauty and quality, its more difficult to appreciate the finesse that transforms raw materials into fine furniture and cabinets. We owe our distinctive products to time honored techniques that include mortise and tenon joinery used in all Ernest Thompson furniture construction and the French dovetails used in our drawer making, hand carved details and multi-step, hand rubbed finishes.

A History of Craftsmanship

Early 70's

In an era of bell bottom jeans and love beads, Ernest Thompson came into existence in the early 70’s. Ernest Thompson, a self-taught artist, began woodworking as a way to make frames for his artwork. This humble start in woodworking evolved into Ernest Thompson Furniture.

Late 80’s

By the late 80’s, Ernest found that running a furniture company on a day to day basis was not his passion. In 1989 Ernest met Mike and Doreen Godwin, Wall Streeters looking for a more relaxed lifestyle. The Godwin’s were enamored with Ernest’s designs. They recognized the craftsmanship and exquisite design elements in each piece of his furniture.

The 90’s through Today

In 1990, Mike and Doreen purchased the company vowing to continue and expand the legacy created by Ernest. Having no previous experience in furniture making, the Godwin’s threw themselves whole heartedly into learning the business by relying on the incredibly talented woodworkers that had been working for Ernest. Today, three of those original woodworkers are still handcrafting furniture for the company.Over the course of the next 30 years, Mike and Doreen expanded the company by adding several other premier furniture and cabinet makers to the Ernest Thompson family.

The Companies

The first company that the Godwin’s added was Sombraje, the original twig shutter company. With its roots in Dixon, NM, Sombraje also had a fabulous storefront on Canyon Rd. in Santa Fe. Over the years, Mike and Doreen became friends with noted artist, Hillary Riggs, the owner of Sombraje. Ultimately, Hillary decided to sell Sombraje to Ernest Thompson Furniture and the company is still a valuable part of the business more than 25 years later.

Two additional companies that are now signature collections of the Ernest Thompson line, are Taos Furniture and Southwest Spanish Craftsmen. Both were long time Santa Fe based furniture companies with a combined history of 150 years of manufacturing in Santa Fe. During the early 2000’s, the two companies had been acquired by one of the very prominent home builders in Santa Fe, Tierra Concepts. As their thriving home building business grew, they concluded that furniture making no longer fit their business model. As such, they started looking for someone to take over the stewardship of these two historic companies. Ernest Thompson Furniture is proud and honored to have been chosen to take over these two exceptional companies.

Ernest Thompson is also known for stellar cabinetry design and manufacturing. Mike and Doreen met Cindy Mauchly, who for 30 years, owned one of the area’s leading cabinet companies, Santa Fe Custom Works. As Cindy began thinking about retirement, she, Mike and Doreen started some casual conversations about the possibility of Ernest Thompson buying Santa Fe Custom Works and in short order, Cindy and her company were welcomed into the family.

All of these wonderful segments make Ernest Thompson what it is today. We are a much larger company today than we were 30 years ago. Despite our growth, we are still committed to timeless designs and unsurpassed craftsmanship of our furniture and cabinets.

Meet The Team

Andy Drescher

Andy Drescher

President & General Manager

Andy Drescher

President & General Manager

Carlos Bonilla

Carlos Bonilla

Cabinet Maker

Carlos Bonilla

Cabinet Maker

Christa Maese

Christa Maese

Finish Shop Manager

Christa Maese

Finish Shop Manager

Erick Martinez

Erick Martinez

CNC Operator & Cabinet Maker

Erick Martinez

CNC Operator & Cabinet Maker

Ever Manjarez

Ever Manjarez

Master Furniture Craftsman

Ever Manjarez

Master Furniture Craftsman

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Cabinet Maker

Fidel Castro

Cabinet Maker

Horacio Romero

Horacio Romero

Master Furniture Craftsman

Horacio Romero

Master Furniture Craftsman

Jenny Navaro Rojas

Jenny Navaro Rojas

Finisher

Jenny Navaro Rojas

Finisher

Jorge Almanza

Jorge Almanza

Cabinet Installer

Jorge Almanza

Cabinet Installer

Jorge Lozano

Jorge Lozano

Furniture Craftsman

Jorge Lozano

Furniture Craftsman

Jose Hernandez

Jose Hernandez

Master Cabinet & Furniture Maker

Jose Hernandez

Master Cabinet & Furniture Maker

Jose L. Ruiz (Chito)

Jose L. Ruiz (Chito)

Master Furniture Craftsman

Jose L. Ruiz (Chito)

Master Furniture Craftsman

Lisa Villanueva

Lisa Villanueva

Finisher

Lisa Villanueva

Finisher

Luis Rascon

Luis Rascon

Delivery

Luis Rascon

Delivery

Mariano Martinez

Mariano Martinez

Cabinet Installer

Mariano Martinez

Cabinet Installer

Mike Godwin

Mike Godwin

Owner & Furniture Designer

Mike Godwin

Owner & Furniture Designer

Morgan Smith

Morgan Smith

Project Manager

Morgan Smith

Project Manager

Nicole Gallegos

Nicole Gallegos

Office Manager

Nicole Gallegos

Office Manager

Rachel Walsh

Rachel Walsh

Master WoodCarver

Rachel Walsh

Master WoodCarver

Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith

WoodCarver & Purchasing Manager

Ryan Smith

WoodCarver & Purchasing Manager

Salvador Cervantes

Salvador Cervantes

Master Furniture Painter

Salvador Cervantes

Master Furniture Painter

Veronica Koester-Justus

Veronica Koester-Justus

Furniture Sales & Design

Veronica Koester-Justus

Furniture Sales & Design

Why Ernest Thompson?

Customization

Part of what makes each piece special is the wood choice, the texture, distress level and the finish. The size of the piece can also be altered to fit perfectly in your own personal space.

Craftsmanship & Design

Recognized for our timeless designs and handcrafted quality, Ernest Thompson is proud of our team of designers and artisans who transform our clients concepts into breathtaking reality.

Customer Service

We love helping people realize their furniture and cabinet vision, whether it’s designing a single, beautiful custom piece, or creating a stunning space in the home.

To The Trade

Trade Application

If you are a member of the trade and would like to apply for an account with Ernest Thompson, please complete the application form below. We will be in touch with you by email upon approval of your application. Please note that the review process may take up to two business days.

We look forward to working with you.

Fill out my online form.

Salvador Cervantes

Master Furniture Painter

Salvador has been a key figure in our finishing department for over 23 years. He brings his artistic flair and experience to every new piece. His favorite thing to do is to “give each piece the final beauty”. The art of staining, glazing and painting are evident in each item he works on.

Salvador likes to cook Mexican dishes such as carne asada and also BBQ. He also enjoys spending time with his family and eating out.

Rachel Walsh

Master Wood Carver

Rachel is a very talented wood carver. She can interpret a flat drawing into a dimensionally beautiful and detailed feature. She often gets ”in the zone” with a large carving piece and loses herself in it, with an amazing outcome every time. Rachel finds it quite rewarding to see the finished result of the fruits of her work.

In her free time, Rachel likes to hike, read and make art.

Mike Godwin

Owner and Furniture Designer

Mike Godwin and his late wife acquired Ernest Thompson & Co. in 1990, and 35 years later, Mike continues to actively lead the Company.

In 2012, Mike was approached and asked to be the Steward of both Southwest Spanish Craftsmen (established in New Mexico, 1927), and Taos Furniture (established in the early 60’s). Both Collections were added to the Ernest Thompson portfolio. That same year, Santa Fe Custom Works (Kitchen & Bath Cabinetry, Built-Ins, Closets) was merged under the Ernest Thompson umbrella.

Mike is the Designer, often in conjunction with the customer and/or Interior Designer, of all of Ernest Thompson’s artisan-made furniture. Additionally, he’s a tinsmith and is in the process of incorporating his work into custom-made furniture pieces.  He takes tremendous pride in the Company’s commitment to the Native American, New Mexican and Spanish design traditions of these fine Collection pieces, and for carrying on the 400-year history of New Mexican Furniture-making.

Mike is a resident of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and often spends his leisure time in Denver, close to his son and grandchildren. He also enjoys pickleball, skiing, camping, hiking and travel. Plus, absolutely anything to do with his alma mater, Texas A&M!

Luis Rascon

Delivery

Luis has been keeping our clients very happy with his friendly manner and great attitude for over 20 years. He is an integral part of Ernest Thompson, always willing to help out in all areas. He enjoys working with the people here, whether it’s changing a showroom lightbulb, or running the hand planing tool in the workshop. He loves the furniture we make.

When Luis is not working, he enjoys working on cars and spending time with his family. He also loves to dance, especially the Mexican styles of Lambada and Carolita.

Kathleen Corona

Finisher

Kathleen is one of our talented finishers. She loves to work on a variety of items and techniques. Even using the same color can look completely different because of the texture and embellishments. Kathleen has a very steady hand and does some of our more precise paint work.

Kathleen’s love of music is evident every day as she always has her earbuds in. She likes all music, from today’s hip hop and rock to music from the 50’s and 60’s. She also plays the flute. She enjoys spending time with her daughter, shopping, swimming and going to the park.

Jose Tapia

Shop Manager

Jose enjoys the challenge of building and designing furniture and cabinetry. He is blessed with the gift of “seeing in 3-D”. When he looks at a concept, he immediately draws it in his head. He takes pride in meeting deadlines and multitasking. He relishes in the beautiful outcome, from concept to end result.

When Jose isn’t working, he can be found DJ-ing at a club or event. His love of mixing music goes back to when he was 6 or 7 years old. Another passion is designing, drawing, rendering and building homes for friends and family in Mexico.

Jose L. Ruiz (Chito)

Master Furniture Craftsman

Chito has been crafting all types of furniture for Ernest Thompson for over 34 years. He is our chair expert, and a master of many other types of furniture. Chito loves the fact that he is a trusted craftsman and can work independently to build our beautiful items. We know each piece that he makes will be a masterpiece.

When not working, Chito enjoys relaxing and watching action movies.

Jose Hernandez

Master Cabinet and Furniture Craftsman

Jose has been with Ernest Thompson for over 20 years. He is very skilled at grain matching. Although he primarily builds cabinets, he has a passion for furniture making as well. Jose enjoys a challenge and will make scale models of an intricate piece prior to building it. We are fortunate to have his talent and experience.

Jose enjoys watching all types of movies, especially action movies.

Jorge Lozano

Furniture Craftsman

Jorge is an integral part of the furniture construction process. He can be found helping out in all aspects of the building of the piece. He likes to learn new techniques and construction methods. He enjoys helping other employees.

Jorge likes to do household projects and yardwork in his free time. He also enjoys listening to Norteno and Cumbia music.

Horacio Romero

Master Furniture Craftsman

Horacio is a premiere furniture maker. He has been making Ernest Thompson furniture for over 36 years. He is a “visualizer”, meaning he can see the final piece by looking at a pile of wood or a rough sketch. He loves integrating the wood grain into the design of the piece. Custom projects are his favorite challenge. Horacio’s organizational skills are extremely valuable when making many pieces of the same kind at one time. His expertise in the design and fabrication process ensures all pieces are identical even though made by multiple people at the same time.

In his free time, Horacio enjoys spending time with his grandkids. He also likes to take old furniture or wood and make something new and exciting out of it.

Ever Manjarrez

Master Furniture Craftsman

We are so fortunate to have had Ever as one of our master furniture craftsman for over 22 years. He enjoys the challenge of figuring out the best way to construct and build our furniture. He is always ready for a new and different project. Custom projects are is forte.

Ever enjoys restoring classic and vintage cars in his free time. He was also always an integral part of the grape harvest when our owner, Mike Godwin had his vineyard in Albuquerque. Ever is a wonderful teacher and always ready to help his fellow colleagues.

Erick Martinez

CNC Operator & Cabinet Maker

Erick is an important part of our cabinet production. He is a master operator of our CNC and keeps all projects accurate and top quality. He likes learning different tools and machinery and quickly masters any new piece of equipment. He has over 25 years experience in the cabinet industry.

Erick enjoys spending his free time with his family. He plays soccer, camps in the beautiful mountains around Taos, New Mexico and enjoys watching movies with them

Andy Drescher

President and General Manager

Andy is the president of Ernest Thompson.  He brings his expertise in Engineering, Information Management, Construction and problem solving to every new project. He leads our talented team in creating our client’s dreams and visions for their furniture and cabinetry. He derives satisfaction from trying to improve efficiency of our systems and processes that allow Ernest Thompson to create unique and high quality products for each of our customers.  He tries to drive Ernest Thompson forward by identifying and harnessing the skills and artistry of each employee.

Andy likes to ride mountain bikes with his family in his free time and he has a passion for golf, especially with his kids. He also enjoys watching his kids at music recitals and sporting events.  He and his wife are avid New Mexico United fans and rarely miss a home game.