True Millwork: Expert Interview

General Experience And Background

1. Can you share your background and what inspired you to start True Millwork? What drew you to the world of custom cabinetry and millwork?

   
   

There are three owners of True Millwork, and we all began our careers in the building industry. Each of us has over 10 years of experience in the industry. We all specialized in doing custom carpentry and spent many years doing high-end renovations. I (Neil Teixeira) had always wanted to work in cabinetry and millwork, and in 2023, I realized the significant gap in the market for a higher-end millwork company that could provide excellent service and high-quality products. I started exploring how to establish my own company. I have always spent all my evenings and weekends building furniture and cabinets for myself and others as a hobby before owning True Millwork. This is precisely what I have always wanted to do for a living, and now I have the opportunity to do it every day—and I love that! 

2. How long have you been in the millwork industry, and what significant changes have you witnessed over the years?

   
   

Our company is pretty young, but I have been in the millwork business for 10 years, and the significant changes I have witnessed are how much more integrated technology has become in the millwork business and how important it is to stay current.

3. What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced in the custom cabinet and millwork industry, and how did you overcome them?

   
   

One of the biggest challenges we have faced is maintaining our quality standards as we grow. The way we are overcoming that is by limiting our growth speed and making sure we are not losing sight of what our brand value is: Quality before everything. This guiding principle has led us to make some costly decisions to ensure that no product leaves our shop that does not meet my personal standards, but I do not regret it.

Industry Expertise

4. What types of materials do you specialize in for cabinetry and custom furniture, and why do you recommend them to your clients?

   
   

We specialize in birch cabinet construction with Lacquered HDF or stained wood doors. These products provide a superb quality level and will last the test of time much better than any other products. Some of the major benefits of plywood cabinets over melamine are durability, water resistance, general wear and tear resistance, and much more. We try to educate clients on that but if it comes down to budget we can make a beautiful product out of any material.

5. Can you walk us through the process of designing custom cabinets or furniture? What factors do you consider to ensure it meets a client's unique needs?

   
   

With our focus on custom products, we typically begin by meeting with the client at their home and creating a 3D drawing of the space in our software. From there, we will start learning about what they like and what inspires them. We take that information and create a drawing of their project, then schedule a follow-up meeting to review our drawings and make any necessary live changes with them as we discuss the project. One of the things our customers have appreciated is how we sit down with them and draw, making changes until it is exactly what they imagined it would be.

6. What process do you go through when starting a new cabinet installation project?

   
   

Our process after design is straightforward. We send clients the final copy of the drawings for approval. Once they have approved them, we put the project into our production queue. Once the cabinets are manufactured, we will deliver them to the site and begin the installation process. This process varies greatly depending on the product and can be anywhere from a day or two to multiple weeks. During the process of installation, cleanliness and respect for the client's home are core principles we follow. It is essential we leave the site cleaner than when we arrived each day.

7. How do you ensure the quality and durability of the products you create, from custom cabinets to kitchen remodels?

   
   

We have multiple quality assurance stages throughout our manufacturing process. It starts with our cabinet makers and the emphasis we have placed on quality above all else. We will remake any product that isn’t perfect without hesitation, even before it reaches the first stage of quality assurance.

After any item has been completed on the production line, one of our supervisors inspects the piece before it can be wrapped and shipped.

After the product is packaged for shipping it moves to the outbound staging area in our shop, and at the end of each shift, the shop foreman will inspect everything ready to ship out.

The final step of quality assurance is that our shop foreman supervises all jobs being loaded into the trailers and conducts a final review of all the parts. If anything is in question, we always err on the side of safety and hold it back from shipping.

Customer Relations And Projects

8. Can you share a story about a particularly challenging project you completed successfully? What made it stand out?

   
   

We recently had a large millwork project come through our shop, and we were tasked with creating items that we had never seen done before. We were tasked with multiple feature walls, a full kitchen, a walk-in closet, a bathroom, and an entertainment wall. This project challenged our creative problem-solving capabilities to get certain parts to work together. The project also featured multiple hidden doors in the walls and intricate backlighting for one of the feature walls. This project was a lot of fun as it allowed us to come up with new and creative ways to achieve specific lighting effects. The client for this project has some amazing ideas and it was truly a pleasure to bring it to life.

9. What advice would you give to homeowners considering a kitchen remodel or custom cabinetry installation?

   
   

I would recommend that they spend some time discussing what they want out of their new kitchen, what problems they are trying to solve, and how this new kitchen will change the quality of their life. Knowing what is most important to your renovation will provide guidance when selecting the company you want to use. I also always recommend that clients reach out to multiple companies to get competitive quotes and see what other companies offer. We prefer clients who have already reached out to various companies when talking to us. This helps them know what options are available and what value points we have over others.

10. How do you approach customer service, especially when handling custom or complex millwork projects?

    
    

We strive to create a relaxing and creative environment for our clients when designing their projects. To achieve this, we avoid using sales tactics and employ a non-conventional process that provides them with live price updates in meetings based on design changes when it’s a cabinet project. This helps clients steer the ship on pricing and design, pulling the normal pressure off them that many companies rely on to close sales. 

One of the core principles in our customer service process is transparency. We will always show them the breakdown we use to calculate the price in our software, and we even happily disclose our profits on the job. We have found that this process allows clients to get what they want while respecting their budget.

Trends And Innovations

11. What are some of the latest trends or innovations in cabinetry and millwork that customers should be aware of?

    
    

We are seeing a significant shift in the way people are designing kitchens, and lately, the focus has been on more functional cabinets that have specific purposes. Another shift we are seeing is toward giving all cabinets drawers, allowing for full utilization of the space. This trend costs a bit more, but clients have been making it a priority for their projects.

12. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest techniques and materials in the millwork industry?

    
    

Our design team regularly meets with our suppliers and product advisors to ensure we are at the forefront of style and finish. This ensures we are leaders in setting the trends in our industry.

13. Are there any sustainable or eco-friendly materials you use in your projects? If so, how are they incorporated into your designs?

    
    

We have always ensured that all products we remove before we install new millwork are donated if still intact. We strive to ensure that all recyclable products are correctly sorted.