About
Most websites are assembled. Ours are written, line by line, from scratch.
Fretwork is a small studio that builds websites the way a cabinetmaker builds furniture - by hand, to measure, without shortcuts. Every line of code is deliberate. Every interaction is considered. We work with clients who care about the difference.
We believe the web is a craft. Not a template to fill. Not a theme to configure.
Our Services
- Custom Web Design - Bespoke websites designed to measure, without shortcuts. No templates. No themes.
- Custom Web Development - Hand-coded websites built in the browser. Real working software at every review - never static mockups.
- Brand Identity Design - Wordmark, typography, and visual identity systems built in coordination with your digital presence.
- E-commerce Development - Custom Shopify Storefront API integrations and bespoke commerce experiences beyond Liquid templates.
Our Process
- Listen - We start without assumptions. Two or three conversations to understand what you're actually trying to do, not what you think you need built.
- Propose - A written brief - no decks, no wireframes yet. Plain language describing the approach, the scope, and why we've made each decision.
- Build - Code first. We write in the browser, not in a design tool. You see real working software at every review, never static mockups.
- Refine - Two rounds of revisions, properly considered. We'd rather spend a day getting something exactly right than ship something nearly right.
- Hand over - Full ownership. Clean code, documented where needed, deployed to infrastructure you control. We don't lock anyone in.
Selected Work
Corban Estate
A scroll-driven editorial archive tracing the Corban family - from Assid Abraham Corban's emigration from the mountain village of Shweir, Lebanon in 1891, to the century of winemaking that followed on a 10-acre plot in Henderson, West Auckland. Designed and built end-to-end by Fretwork Studio.
The platform opens with a scroll-locked Act 1: a hardware-accelerated 3D globe rendered via MapLibre GL, guided by a precise waypoint matrix carrying the viewer from Mount Lebanon across the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Melbourne, Wellington, and down onto the ridge above the Ō Panuku stream in Henderson where Assid planted his first vines in 1902. Act 2 releases into a long-form editorial - decade by decade, from the first Henderson Show medals in 1910, through prohibition, the Great Depression, and three generations of winemakers, to the estate's Category 1 Historic Place listing. Every interaction, every line of code, hand-written by Fretwork Studio. No CMS. No framework.
Editorial · Archive · Web - 2024
Lume Photo Editor
A free, browser-based professional photo editing workspace with zero server dependencies and absolute client privacy. Every pixel operation runs locally - no uploads, no accounts, no recurring costs. Designed and built end-to-end by Fretwork Studio.
Fretwork Studio designed and engineered Lume from the ground up: product concept, React application architecture, deployment pipeline, and public marketing site. The workspace runs on Vite/React, compiles to both browser and native desktop via Tauri, and ships with a professional masking suite (brush, lasso, colour-range, gradient), a full tone and colour pipeline (exposure, contrast, colour grading wheels, dehaze), AI-powered relighting via local Ollama or Groq, and a global keyboard command palette. Every operation runs in the browser - no server, no account, no cost to the user.
Product · App · React - 2025
Contact
Let's make something real. Get in touch to start a conversation about your project.
Based in Auckland, New Zealand. Working with clients locally and internationally.
hello@fretworkstudio.com
