Nava Gnessin was born in Tel Aviv Israel, and she moved to America at the age of 18-years-old. She lived in California, Texas and New York City, and for the past 10 years she has resided in NJ. As a child, she was very interested in building projects and using her hands to put things together creatively. She often observed and helped her father in his downstairs shop.

Nava was given a birthday gift from a friend in Manhattan to attend a woodworking class at the YWCA on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, and her true love for woodworking began. For her first project, she started with a solid piece of Mahogany wood and created a bathroom cabinet. Years later, she uses old wood that she retrieves with her pickup truck along the way and from friends' donations, as well as new wood. Today, Nava has over 30 years of woodworking experience, and her work shows that she is a truly gifted artisan.