About cabinet makers and professional woodworkers, our attitudes and beliefs.

This page is about cabinet makers and professional woodworkers, two hard working guys, Vladimir Grischenko and Mitchell Henige. Our standards are higher than average for the woodworking and cabinetry industry, and this is why we give ourselves the title - professionals.

• About professionals

What makes a professional cabinet maker or woodworker? A professional cabinetmaker does not have to be missing a finger to be a pro, nor does owning every tool and gadget make a professional woodworker. Years of experience help, but still do not earn the woodworker the title, professional. As employers, we have worked beside many tradesmen, some professional and some, well, - just experienced. The true professional starts with an idea and proceeds to a plan in order to efficiently see the project through to a satisfactory completion. All the while, he/she is mindful of how his/her actions may influence others. The professional puts the needs of the project before his/her pride or profit.

• More personal information about us

This section is about cabinet makers - woodworkers, and their different backgrounds.

Vladimir Grischenko, a native of the Ukraine, began his lifetime of woodworking at his grandfather's, a shoe maker's, side, making the wood forms that shoes were constructed on in that time. After graduating from a university and the military, Vladimir married and began the bold move of immigrating to the USA via Israel, where he further honed his woodworking and finishing skills. Upon arriving in the USA, he worked a few finish carpentry jobs and eventually opened a cabinet shop of his own. Keeping with the values that were instilled in him from early on, he truly believes that all parts of our daily lives should be as beautiful as they are useful. If you are looking for more about Vladimir,right-click to download article, PDF file here.

Vladimir applies finishes on custom cabinet doors

Mitchell Henige began his career in an entirely different manner. Born and raised in rural MI, his family instilled in him a never give up, hard-working attitude. After graduating high school, he worked for a friend's father framing homes. After some years, he moved on to a larger construction company where he began to learn the finish carpentry trade. When the owner of this company was killed in a boating accident, Mitchell was faced with a decision to be an employee or become the employer. After considerable thought and some consultation with an uncle who owned a very successful woodworking business and began his career in a similar fashion, Mitchell made the decision to be an employer. After about 15 years of concentrating on installing custom interior trim and cabinets, Mitchell began to make cabinets to specifications. In 2003, the economy began to slow, and he equipped a shop in order to concentrate more on cabinets and custom moldings. Mitch truly believes that nothing is impossible, given enough thought and talent. More about cabinet maker Mitchell,right-click to download shop photos, PDF file.

Mitchell is in the process of building cabinet doors and applying moldings

Custom Cabinetry Design began as a concept in about 2000, when Vlad and Mitch crossed paths. Mitch was installing custom cabinets made by Vlad's Company and they began addressing the issues associated with designing, manufacturing, and installing custom cabinets. After many years of making sawdust and collaborating on countless projects together, we believe that we have come up with a system from design through final installation that addresses most problems encountered with custom cabinetry. Our goal is to help people love their homes and the process known as construction cabinetry craft.

• About professional cabinet makers and woodworkers

In reality, it is hard to separate woodworkers and cabinet makers. An assembly worker at a box cabinet manufacturer can claim to be a cabinetmaker, but is that person a cabinet maker or a cabinet assembler - you decide. In our view, in order to be considered a woodworker or a cabinet maker professional - an artisan specializing in making fine articles of wooden furniture (The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language), one must be proficient in all aspects of cabinet making or wood working. It can be difficult to express the capacity of our professional colleagues and partners; technically most any object can be fabricated from wood. Simple economics causes us to narrow our field and specialize in a particular sector of the field.

The differences you can recognize

About professional cabinet makers and woodworkers

• The cabinet doors are correctly glued (both parts receive glue)
• The doors' insert panels are prefinished edges (for wood movement with no line when panel moves)
• The mitered doors will not crack on the glue joint (original methods)
• The door thickness is 21mm (1.5 mm or 1/16 thicker than mass production allows for greater edge detail and more gluing surface)
• The cabinet box is 100% made from 3/4" (18.5 mm) prefinished, healthy plywood (formaldehyde free)
• Drawer boxes are 5/8" (15 mm) solid wood, 1/2" (12mm) bottom (very solid, little deflection)
• 95% of cabinet parts are finished horizontally (pleasure to touch)
• Engineered by design assembling methods (over 25 years of satisfaction)
• Totally hidden wires, under cabinet lighting system (original and very clean)
• Flawless installation and components indication (precision parts will fit precisely)

The list of differences does not stop with the above listing; it encompasses the entire process. In our business, we are not running contests to see who is faster at building the cabinet box or making a cheaper cabinet door... We position ourselves to the craft and quality, as well as traditional woodworking integrity.

About professional attitudes and beliefs

We believe the path to prosperity and fulfillment as professionals begins with a great plan followed by a dedication to using the best materials, thoughtful construction practices, and an eye toward detail through our professional and personal lives.

Ilia Grischenko visiting Dad's woodworking shop and showroom

• Moving forward

All of our pages are marketing except the page "About". This is not a marketing page. By sharing with you our knowledge, we promise to be honest and forthcoming. We are not going to lead you down the wrong road for any reason. Our reviews or referrals, picking materials, or tooling, will all have rational explanations. We still need to complete many more pages about cabinetry, and later on we will include more photos of ourselves and our shop.

This website was created by a couple of guys who are interested in sharing, improving, and educating all of us. We all know how many poor quality cabinet products are on the market. This is our chance to offer improvement.

It is our mission to help you love your home.

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