apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Good morning Heather,

My name is Philippe and I own and operate my specialty woodworking shop and studio in Charlestown, NH. I certainly am not local to you geographicaly, but I appreciate your desire to use resources local to you there near Chicago.

Education is the key. I found that educating my clients is paramount... -Not selling to them! As you meet prospective carpenters and craftspeople to accomplish your project, make sure they are always ready to answer your questions. If you feel like you are talking to someone in the sales department vs. an empassioned artist and craftsperson, follow your intuition and move to the next one on the list. As you know, you can buy cabinets anywhere, so what is the value of having them handmade for you? A confident and honest woodworker will be able to educate you why or why not this may be the best way for you to proceed.

I can usually fush out of my customers the reason they are thinking about custom work vs. stock or semi-custom options. It typically boils down to desiring a connection with the place they call "home." I love working with people that want to have an active, central role in the project. Sure, I'll do work for someone who is "just signing the checks", but it is inspirational and exciting to see a project completed while working together.

It sounds as if you too are seeking to maintain a tangible connection with your home. Good luck! p.s. There are always ways to creatively discuss ways to reduce the cost or ease the way it will be paid. For example, I am a huge fan of barter. I have also established monthly payments for a portion of the cost. Like I said, a passionate craftsman will want to complete the project almost more than worrying about the money. -Almost. haha. Woodworkers have to eat too :)

I'll be watching this thread.

I'm curious to see if there are any carpenters/millworkers in Chicago who are familiar with this site.

I've had one cabinetmaker out to my place to quote me on some custom work. To me, the price seemed high but I didn't really have any other estimates to compare it to.

I'd love to be able to have a few different leads on skilled millworkers who have small businesses and have progressive and creative ideas for custom jobs. I wonder if a lot of shops tend to focus more on big jobs banging out cabinets and shelves on an assembly line basis and can't be too concerned with little custom jobs and if they are, they set their pricing high enough "to make it worth it".

http://www.schickfurniture.com/

Bill Schick furniture - He's a designer. He's a carpenter. He's an all-around great guy who has built and repaired and designed a ton of stuff for me and my friends and family throughout the years.

Well I can tell you I know a few carpenters who read the sight but there is a difference between carpentry, finish work & furniture building. A lot depends on just what materials you want, how "custom" the job really is, how much millwork will be done. At the end of the day you are paying for a craftsman and his skill not Ikea.

Art, I noticed what you wrote and you're right there is always economy in larger scale but and generally a smaller job will be seem pricier than a larger one for 2 reasons....project difficulty or for the exact reason you state."to make it worth it". It still takes the same amount of time to quote, shop for materials, unload tools, generally it takes the same amount of cuts to make a similar small piece as it does a large one and the tolerances are even tighter, clean up...I think you get the idea. It's not really carpentry it is furniture building and custom furniture is never inexpensive. My brother and I are the sons of a carpenter who also builds custom furniture, millwork, handmade flooring, etc...and we both have great ideas (All my brother does is custom work and he is better then I am! I am just a weekend wood worker.) and we have done many projects but unless work is scarce custom anything is never really a bargain.

With all that said I can recommend a great guy to talk to who is less established than some others I know and is "reasonable" but will need to check with him to make sure it's ok to post his info.

Let me know if you're interested.

Have a great day.

Bill Schick's site has some great looking stuff on it and I would say check him out but I can't imagine he's cheap.

I hear you Patrickinchicago.

If your friend is willing, I'll bet there would be a lot of people interested in such a lead.

Bill Schick's work is absolutely gorgeous. I would expect to pay the same for each piece as I would for a work of art.

What I'm more interested in is someone who could walk in and offer a solution to some relatively simple situations. For instance, I would like to put an armoire or wardrobe in my entryway and would like to have a bench next to it. I could easily buy an Ikea wardrobe and place some sort of a bench next to it. It would be functional and not look bad but of course it would scream Ikea and the adjacent bench would be disjointed.

I like the idea of someone coming in and proposing a type of built in unit that would all be one piece, doesn't have to be made of super expensive materials, doesn't have to have a lot of mitres or carving or anything like that (sorry I don't know the craft terminology). So, if I could get something like this, I'd expect to pay a little more than Ikea but would have the satisfaction of having a unique fluid piece and one that was locally made.

I guess I'm looking for basic but unique form with more of the emphasis on function.

I left a message for my friend but I have a feeling what you're looking for is probably not up his alley. But I know a place that comes to mind but they're not really that "cheap" either but they're not too bad....I can't remember the name of the store but they're on Milwaukee just SE of the Double Door or Francesca Forno's on that side of the street. You'll know it as soon as you see it. They have done some custom built in shelves for a friend of my brother's when bro's prices were not in the budget...but I have a feeling they may be too pricey for what you're looking for. But our friend liked what they did. And I think you could probably have them do a piece for you unfinished and then take care of that yourself. What I really think is that you're being offered a prime opportunity for a DIY project that you can end up with some tools with at the end of the project and still come out ahead of the game in price. But I understand if you don't want to deal with that...but it isn't as hard as one might think. It might take you longer than you think but I say give it a try. And if it is a painted piece that gives you some room to hide flaws!
Good luck and I'll post my friends reply one way or another...and if I can be of any further advice feel free to ask at this post.

Have a great night....I'm off to meet clients then drink liberally!

Patrickinchicago,

You have more faith in my abilities than I do.

I also will be watching this thread. I would love to have some bookshelves built in around a large window along with a window seat in-between. I always see these things done rather easily on home design shows, with their show handyman, but where to go to find such a handyman is the question...

Patrick in Chicago here,

I have talked to my friend the woodworker and he is going to check out the website and get back to me with an answer about posting his info by the beginning of next week. I have a feeling his answer will be yes.

Patrick in Chicago