Mike Ayres builds green.

Jade McCully

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When Mike wanted to buy some modern, eco-friendly furniture for his house and couldn’t find anything he liked, he decided to put his architecture degree from SCAD to use and design his own. He liked the results so much—and so did his friends—that he opened up a shop to manufacture, design, and build his own residential and commercial furniture, along with custom work. The result is Structured Green, and if you’ve ever admired Savannah Bee Company’s beautiful honeycomb doors on Broughton Street, you’ve already appreciated their work firsthand. “We just design what we like,” he says. Mike’s ambition to go “green” extends beyond his choice of materials—he hopes to eventually build a factory that is completely off-grid. “It’s the right thing to do,” says Mike. “Our hope is that we are an example not only to other businesses but also in manufacturing.”

What’s your favorite thing about wearing a skirt? “I felt like I could run really fast. I don’t know what it was. I just…I felt like I could fly in it.”

And your favorite thing about reading skirt!? “I read skirt! for the ads. I want to see the graphic design. I think y’all have the best out of everybody.”